Chicken soup for the soul, mind, spirit and belly.
Homemade Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 1 3 pound whole chicken
- 2 48-ounce boxes of College Inn chicken broth (or bouillon cubes with water)
- 2 parsnips, chopped
- 2 turnips, chopped
- 5 carrots, chopped
- 5 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 onions, one chopped, one whole
- 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
- 1 Parmigiano-Reggiano rind
- Fresh parsley, chopped
- Fresh dill, chopped
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Rinse the chicken under cold water and remove the gizzards/neck packet if it is enclosed and discard (some use this I don’t – it’s your preference). Peel an onion and stick it inside in the chicken whole. Simmer uncovered in a large stockpot with 1 box of broth and additional water so it is submerged. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper.
- Let it simmer for about an hour and a half skimming foam off the top occasionally while it boils. Then add onion, parsley, turnip, parsnip, dill (whatever you like) let it simmer and keep skimming foam. Add tomato paste and Parmigiano-Reggiano rind. Add more stock, and any additional salt and pepper to taste. When the flesh is tender enough to shred without effort, remove the chicken and shred it (I use all the chicken for the soup but you can use some and save some for other uses). I like to boil additional celery and carrots separately over the stove because I like them on the firmer side and throw them in the soup at the end.
- You can make it even healthier and the broth even clearer by refrigerating the broth so the fat hardens and accumulates on the surface, then scoop it off.
- Add your noodles, pasta or rice and let boil. Once the noodles or pasta are almost cooked, toss the chicken back in just to heat up, plus the celery and carrots at the end. Remove the Parmigiano-Reggiano rind before serving. Garnish with Pecorino Romano cheese, if desired.
