Traditional Chicken Soup
Traditional Chicken Soup is the soup I serve at all of the Jewish holidays. The richly flavored broth is augmented with pieces of shredded chicken, carrot slices and celery. Add a matzah ball or noodles or leave it plain…the broth is amazing and works well any way you want to serve it!
Begin making the broth by cleaning the chicken thoroughly. Place it in a large pot and add cold water. Bring it to a rolling boil. Remove it from the heat and skim off the foam that has accumulated on the top of the surface.
Add all of the remaining ingredients into the pot, bring back to a boil and cover and simmer for an hour or so.
At this point, once the chicken has cooked, I like to remove the chicken from the pot. I separate the chicken from the bones and throw the bones back into the soup and continue cooking another hour or so to get a rich, flavorful broth. Some people like a less flavored broth but if you like it deeper in flavor, cook it longer.
It’s best not to leave the chicken in the entire time as it will become rubbery.
Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it and set aside until the broth is ready.
I also like to “fancy” up the carrots by using a zester and cutting a line down the side of the carrot. I repeat this all the way around. When you slice the carrots, it looks like a little flower.
Strain the soup, once it’s done cooking, and put the carrots and sliced celery back into the broth along with the shredded chicken.
Serve while still hot.
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Traditional Chicken Soup
Makes: 8 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours & 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours & 45 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 (3-4 pound) Kosher chicken (see Chef’s Notes)
- 3 quarts cold water
- 2 medium onions
- 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into discs (see Chef’s Notes)
- 3 stalks celery with leaves
- 2 parsnips, peeled
- 1 medium tomato
- 4 sprigs fresh dill
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Clean the chicken thoroughly. Place in a large pot with water. Bring to a rolling boil. Remove the pot from the heat and skim the foam off the top until the soup is clear.
Add vegetables, herbs and seasonings. Bring back to a boil. Cover, lower the heat, and simmer until chicken is tender (45-60 minutes).
Remove the chicken from soup and let it cool for a few minutes. At this point, if you feel the soup is not rich enough in flavor, put the chicken bones back into the soup and continue to simmer for another 30-60 minutes. When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it into small pieces.
Strain the soup. Put the carrots, celery (sliced) and chicken back into the broth, if desired.
Chef’s Notes:
You can leave the chicken whole or cut into 8 pieces, whichever is more manageable.
If I have time, I like to “pretty up” the carrots by cutting lines down the side of each carrot with the side of a citrus zester. When you slice through the carrot, it makes little flowers.
I like a very richly flavored broth, so I typically add an extra hour of cooking time. I lower the heat and remove the lid. Watch that too much of the liquid doesn’t evaporate.
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