A member of the Peanut Gallery (and loyal reader) popped up last night with the observation that this blog has been very work-y of late. Let’s fix that right now.
Chicken Soup. I’ve been all about the elixir with no known rival for some days now due to a certain unwelcome visitor (cough, sneeze, Neti Pot, repeat). Sadly, this morning I had to part with my delicious concoction and take off for climes better known for their barbecue than Mama’s go-to remedy.
Here then, my recipe, evolved from my mother’s, as certain ingredients have become less available since the days when we went to the Farmers Market, a building of its own in rural Pottstown, Pennsylvania, to buy our chickens, eggs, vegetables, and French crullers that have no rival.
Assume, by the way, that all ingredients are organic. Jump page for the recipe.
Ethel’s Chicken Soup for the 21st-century
1 whole chicken
12 chicken wings
--or, if you can get them--
12 chicken wings
12 chicken backs
12 chicken necks
1 large chicken breast (bone-in)
or, a leftover roast chicken and some combo of the above
4-6 large carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces (scrub, don’t peel, another
dictum for all root veggies unless waxed or otherwise ruined for
transport)
4-6 large parsnips, cut same as carrots
6 stalks celery, including the ones with the leaves, chopped
2 large leeks, cleaned and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
4 cippoline onions or shallots (either or both or neither, optional), chopped
4 cloves garlic, smashed
4 sprigs of thyme or 2t dried
2 bay leaves, broken in half
1/2 bunch of parsley
8 fresh sage leaves or 2t dried
1-2 sprigs of rosemary (or 1t dried)
salt
pepper corns (8-10)
canola oil
Cover chicken with cold water; bring to boil; skim (this is the only unpleasant part)
Meanwhile, cover the bottom of a large skillet with canola (or other veggie) oil, and saute all veggies until slightly brown in this order: garlic, onions (add salt here to release their great properties), carrots, parsnips, celery. Add herbs.
When the kitchen begins to smell like heaven, remove veggies from skillet and add to soup.
Add peppercorns and as much salt as you like to use. Return to boil and simmer for 3-4 hours.
When you can’t wait any longer because it smells so fantastic, remove chicken, let it cool slightly, and debone as fast as you can. Reintroduce to pot and warm again, correcting seasoning.
Now you really want my mom in your kitchen. In the meantime, she would have been making fresh egg noodles. Assuming you haven’t found a way to incarnate her, get out your pasta machine and do the same – or boil up some Pennsylvania Dutch Egg Noodles (sadly non-organic).
Serve and slurp. And thank Ethel Lipnack for not only being the world’s best lip-reading teacher and beloved high school English teacher but knowing how to make a grrrreat chicken soup.