Chicken Soup

Jewish penicillin, liquid gold, whatever you want to call it, Chicken Soup has immeasurable benefits. I can’t decide if I like the Italian version, which is how I grew up knowing Chicken Soup, or the Jewish kind. My mother’s version had huge pieces of celery and carrots and a bit of tomato. The kind I used to get at Second Ave Deli had tons of dill. My version marries the two.

Ingredients

• olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks, cleaned and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 1 whole chicken, or for a quicker version, cut up pieces such as chicken legs or thighs.
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dill
• If you have a rind of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese lying around, use it here (optional)

Directions

In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute the onion, carrots and celery for a few minute. Add the garlic and red pepper and cook one minute more.

Add the chicken or chicken parts and cover with water by twp inches but not too close to the top of the pot. Add the paste, the bay leaves and salt and pepper. You can always add more for flavor later. If you have the cheese rind, add it now. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. If you are using a whole chicken, cook at least 1 and and half hours. If using pieces, it should be done in an hour. During the last 1/2 hour, add the dill so it remains somewhat fresh. I like to simmer with the top of the pot lightly askew so some air gets in there.

Taste the soup and adjust for flavorings. Once the chicken is cooked, remove the pieces and-here’s where you have options. Either strain the soup so you are left with golden broth and no pieces of carrots etc. or don’t strain and just remove the bay leaves. I like to strain at least some of my soup because I usually wind up with a few containers and I freeze some for later use in any number of recipes.

With your hands or two forks, remove the meat from the chicken bones and rip it up. Don’t throw out the bones and fat, you will use these for the part two. To serve the soup, reheat the amount of broth you will need to serve and add the chicken pieces to it and any other additions such as tiny pasta. I like to serve my soup with tiny ancini di pepe pasta or orzo, but you could serve without pasta or add a matzo ball.

Take the chicken bones and fat and add to the stockpot with the strained vegetables if you strained your soup, or a new round of veggies but this time you don’t need to chop them and saute them-just roughly cut them up so they fit in the pot. Add another bay leaf, salt and pepper and cover with water by 2 inches. Simmer, covered for two-six hours. Allow to cool a little and strain. Now you have bone broth. Sip like tea or use as a broth base as you would your other broth.

A note about the fat-if the fat skeeves you and you find it hard to skim the pot, refrigerate your soup in containers overnight or as long as a few hours and the fat will rise to the top and solidify. You can then just scoop it right off and save as schmaltz or toss.