My Chicken Soup

Somewhere between Mom, Grandma Millas and Culinary School, this is the recipe I have come up with for Chicken Soup.


The Broth

1 Whole Chicken, cut into parts

2 Carrots cut in half, skin left on

2 stalks of celery cut in half

1 large onion cut in half, skin removed

12 whole peppercorns

2 T. Kosher Salt

Large handful of Fresh Parsley (either Curly or Flat Leaf Italian will do)

4-6 Garlic cloves left whole, skin off

Cold Water to Cover

*Note* Here is the strange thing about my broth.. its never the same. It is, but it is not. One of the wonderful things in the restaurant world is when you start seeing produce and other things on the verge of starting to go bad... what do you do with them? You make a soup! Or at least a base for a soup! The day I make this soup, i fling open the refrigerator and see what is going on. I've put old green onions and cilantro in my broth. One time there was a whole bulb of garlic that was just starting to go, I used the whole bulb of garlic. One time i had a bay leaf left in a container, i threw that in. I've thrown in dill, thyme, tarragon that was on the verge. I've even followed in Paula Deen's footsteps and I have sprinkled in Italian seasoning at this point to cover the top of the broth and mixed it in. It gets strained anyway, and no one is the wiser. Pssst.. if i have a box of chicken broth sitting in the refrigerator... in it goes!

Okay so, making sure your chicken is cut up put that, all the vegetables into a large pot. Chicken on the bottom, the rest on top, put in cold water to cover up to the top of the pot. Add your parsley, salt and peppercorns, bring this mixture to a boil, then turn it down to low, put a lid on it, and walk away for about 2-4 hours. When you come back, you will have the broth for your soup. Find a large strainer, and over another pot, strain your broth. Remove the chicken pieces from the strainer and discard the rest. Remove the skin from the chicken, and with a fork or your fingers, shred the chicken and return it to the pot.

The Rest of the Ingredients

4 stalks of Celery, chopped

4 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 onion, small dice

another large handful of Fresh Parsley

Add the vegetables to the broth, bring to a boil, reduce to medium low heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. As far as the parsley goes, granny used to put it in stem and all... it depends on my mood, sometimes i do that, other times i rip the leaves off, give it a quick rough chop and toss it in. Serve with egg noodles, Kluski noodles, Acini Di Pepi or Orzo. I cook the noodles by themselves per the package directions. As soon as I can get it out of my brother, I will be posting HIS version of Chicken Soup, which is almost IDENTICAL to Grandma Millas's soup!!