Simple Chicken Soup (a.k.a. Jewish Penicillin)

A recipe from Andrea Watman

My sister Joy is the chicken soup Queen. As a matter of fact she credits her marriage to a pot of chicken soup. Ok it’s along story, but the short version is that shortly after they meet, her future husband got the flu. She made him a pot of chicken soup and as they say the rest is history. So be careful – this is a magical recipe, it cures many ills and just may lead to love!

Her soup is made without flanken – but adding the flanken makes a richer soup and the added bonus is you get to eat the flanken (serve with white horseradish, yum!).

 

View a print ready page. Ingredients: 8 Qts Cold Water 1 Large Chicken – cut in 1/4's – approx 3-4 Lbs 4 PCS Flanken (Beef Short Ribs) 6 Large Parsnips 6 Large Carrots 2 Medium Yellow Onions 1 Whole Head Celery – cut into stalks with all leaves removed 2 Bunches of Fresh Dill 2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt 6 Cloves of FRESH Garlic Salt and Pepper to Taste NOTE: DO NOT BUY THE PREPARED BAG OF SOUP GREENS. Fresh Vegetables – Picked by Hand are the magic of this recipe. You have to be able to smell the sweetness of the parsnips, and the green of the dill. Preparation: 1. In a 12 Qt heavy stock pot add cold water, salt and flanken. Bring to a boil. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes. You will have to skim the water while cooking because the flanken will make a fatty foam on the surface. Just skim with a slotted spoon. 2. Peel the carrots and parsnips. Remove the skin from the onions and garlic. Cut celery stalks in thirds. 3. Add chicken (be sure to wash thoroughly), parsnips, carrots, onions, garlic, celery and dill (again be sure to wash thoroughly – I add stems and all. It will cook apart and you can remove the stems before serving). Your kitchen will begin to small delicious. 4. Lower to a simmer and cook for approx two hours. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper as necessary.   Serving Suggestions: I am a purest. I strain the soup, some of the dill will remain in the soup, but I like the touch of green. I serve the clear soup with Matzoh Balls and I slice the cooked carrots and add to each bowl of soup. If you are a Martha Stewart wana-be you can buy baby carrots with the green stems, clean them, peel them, leaving just enough of the greens to add a touch elegance, then boil them separately – and add them to each bowl (very fancy – but totally unnecessary). You can also dice the cooked chicken and add to the prepared soup. We serve the cooked vegetables and flanken separately. As for the cooked chicken, Joy makes the all time best chicken salad using Hellmann’s Mayonnaise and fresh chopped celery. Perfect on Matzoh!