A recipe we could all use now: chicken soup!
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Making homemade soup is easier than you think. There’s a major plus to making it too, leftovers (and ones that can easily be frozen!) My dear mother-in-law first showed me how to make soup, and I thank her for that, but it was often too watery and pretty blah. It definitely needed a few adjustments. Well…a lot of adjustments! I kicked it up several notches by adding herbs and allowing it to simmer for hours instead of just one or two.
Ingredients, for the broth:
- whole chicken
- 6 carrots, halved
- 6 stalks of celery, halved
- 4 large onions, halved
- the stalks of 1 bunch Anise
- a bouquet of Italian parsley, basil, thyme, rosemary, sage and oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 garlic gloves
- purified water
- salt and ground pepper (at least 1 tablespoon each)
Ingredients, for the soup:
- 1 can of whole peeled tomatoes
- additional finely chopped vegetables; carrots, celery, onion, your choice!
- your favorite pasta or rice
- optional: 2 additional pieces of uncooked chicken (white or dark meat)*
Directions
-Put the whole chicken in a large pot and cover with purified water (remember to remove the parts from cavity. I put everything in the water except the liver). Cover and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Skim off any foam with strainer, lower to a simmer and add all broth ingredients.
-Simmer, uncovered, until the chicken falls off of the bone when you poke it with a fork. I usually simmer for 6 hours. Take everything out of the pot. Strain the broth back into the pot and discard everything else, all the nutrients from the ingredients are in the broth.
*A note from we heart this: Many recipes keep the chicken that has been simmered for hours and use it in the soup. But we learned recently from the culinary god (aka Ina Garden) that after all that time simmering, the flavor is in the broth, not the chicken. Two options; saute additional chicken pieces to add at the end or remove the whole chicken 45 minutes into the simmer, allow to slightly cool to handle, remove the desired meat for the soup, then add the carcass back to the broth for the remainder of the simmer. The choice is yours!
-During the last half hour of simmering, saute the chicken (*obtained through either of the above methods) in olive oil with any vegetables you would like in your soup. Once cooked, cut chicken to your desired consistency.
-While vegetables and chicken pieces are sauteing, prepare your pasta or rice, al dente.
-Add pasta or rice, sauteed chicken and vegetables and the can of whole peeled tomatoes to the broth and heat on low for 5-10 minutes, allowing flavors to meld.
To serve, sprinkle some Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese on top, and season with cracked pepper. Tip: I often cook the broth the night before and refrigerate to allow the fat to rise to the top (which can easily be skimmed). You are left with virtually a fat-free chicken broth.
You’ll love this, and with much of the country under snow, it’s the perfect time of year to warm the cockles of your heart with some yummy homemade chicken soup!
What’s your favorite soup, readers?
we heart this review team member Pamela Irene, our kitchen guru, lives with husband David in Orange County, CA and works in the management office at the ‘happiest place on earth’ – South Coast Plaza. She can also mix a mean cocktail and is the owner of the largest bath & body collection we’ve ever seen.
@irene – This soup looks delicious! I do not know why but, soup is one of those things like salad that always tastes better when someone else makes it. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
I have to say at my house Chilli is probably our favorite. I can all of the tomoatoes, onions and peppers from my garden.
I never realized that about the chicken, but it makes total sense! Thanks so much for the tip!
I love orzo in my chicken soup when I don’t feel like messing with big floppy noodles. But sometimes you need the egg noodles, just like mom makes! :-)
Pamela Irene will you be my mom??
This soup looks delicious! I hope that my husband will prove his love by making this for me very soon. :)
Thanks for the great recipe!
Holly @hao9703, this is perfect for a cold night! It’s so delish with a salad, sandwich – whatever you want! It’s a great tip about adding chicken back into the soup – You know, at times I don’t even bother..the stock is able to stand on its own. The same thing applies to adding fresh veggies back into it. It’s super healthy for you too! Anyone remember Pastina? It’s hard to get on the West Coast- but you can find it 9 out of 10 times at an Italian deli. You can even put pearl barley in place of pasta.. YUM!
You just made me laugh @kellie76 – I’ll be your Mom!
This is such a versatile recipe- just try it sometime, you’ll like it! It’s easy too!
@irene, I came to wht today fighting a cold and craving soup, and there was your beautiful recipe… like magic! At least on paper, I think I can handle this. I’m heading to the grocery store for supplies after work. Thank you!
@turboterp – get better soon! My Nana (along with many others) used to call Chicken soup “Jewish Penicillin” Now, I know why-It really helps!
I add a dash of sherry in my chicken soups. It really helps enhance the flavor!
Oh @irene – you have me craving a bowl of chicken noodle like mad. I’ve never been able to find a great vegetarian copy of good this classic. I have a great Chinese place that makes some good Egg Flower Soup and I add white rice – it’s a good Chicken and Rice soup for vegetarians.
@matcha Abigail – cooking with wine/beer/liquor is always a good idea!
OOOooooh! Saving this. Looks so good. Homemade soup is the best :)
We have to find a soup that tastes this good for you @tyna!
@matcha Abigail, I’ve added home crafted beer to some of my stocks with great success too! Cooking Sherry/Port Wines.. you just name it! It’s all good and makes cooking so tasty!!
@Irene – what a great sounding recipe! Chicken soup is one of those things that you really need to find the *perfect* recipe for, and this one looks like an excellent next try on my quest for the perfect soup. Thanks!
@Matcha – I’m with @Tyna – cooking with alcohol of some sort is always a good idea! LOL
Yum! Thanks for sharing this recipe @irene! Looks delicious!
@irene – I remember pastina! Growing up with Italian grandparents we ate it all the time. Aren’t they just little ball noodles? I’m wondering now how they differ from acini de pepe (which is my go to choice for soup noodles @lyssachelle, if you love orzo, you’d love both of these 2!)
@matcha – I like adding sherry to my stews! Such a good flavor.
@stef, Pastina literally means “little pasta”. I found Ronzoni’s Pastina # 155 at a small Italian bakery in Huntington Beach called Lucci’s. They are tiny pasta stars. I mean tiny! I think it was the first pasta my tummy had as a child. I’d often make them with butter and some salt pepper and some cheese to top that off – you know I was one happy camper! In general they come in a variety of shapes and some have wheat flour and may also include egg. ACINI DI PEPE- are small round balls of pasta the size of peppercorn. Orzo is like rice shapped pasta. They all are great!
I love making chicken noodle soup…we PA Dutch folks do chicken pot pie (which isn’t pot pie at all but a cross between chicken noodle soup and chicken n dumplings). Whenever I make either I always cook the chicken until it falls off the bone…but I also use that stringy, soft chicken. In fact, if I don’t have stringy chicken it just doesn’t seem like home.
I like a squeeze of lemon in my chicken vegetable soup, too. That is def NOT a PA Dutch tradition.
Even though I am a creature of habit, I’m going to give your way a go. One of these days. It sure does look yummy!