Things have calmed down a bit, but not much. Today I got a text from my daughter-in-law telling me that my grandson has strep throat, and he has asked for me to make him chicken soup. Enter my mother. Now, my dear mother was not an extraordinary cook. We always had a hot meal on the table, but she was a woman of the '50's and meals, aside from Sunday pasta and once more during the week, consisted of mostly meat, potatoes, a vegetable and salad. However, she had one meal that was her shining star, and that was her chicken soup. Hers was even better than my grandmother's, who, by the way, was an extraordinary cook. She taught both my sister and me how to make her chicken soup, and while ours is a close second, it will never be as good as hers. So to honor my mother, here is her chicken soup recipe.
Now, before I begin, I want to tell you that we ate our soup clear with just pastina, or ditalini. My mother served the boiled chicken and the vegetables separately after we ate the soup. My grandchildren like it with the chicken and the vegetables in the soup. So I will tell you how I do both. Also, this is best made the day before you plan to serve it. Something magical happens to the flavor in the fridge overnight, and any excess fat will solidify and you can easily remove it.
GRANDMA JOSIE'S CHICKEN SOUP
1 whole cut up chicken about 3 lbs (or the equivalent weight in chicken parts)
3 quarts of water
2 medium onions peeled and quartered
3-4 carrots peeled and cut in half
3-4 stalks of celery cut into 3 inch pieces. Include the leafy part
a bunch of fresh, flat leaf parsley-about 6-8 stalks, leave whole
a bay leaf (this is my addition, not hers)
about a tablespoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
2-3 tablespoons of tomato sauce
Rinse chicken parts and trim off any fat. I leave on the skin and remove it after the chicken is cooked, because the skin holds a lot of the flavor. Put in a large pot and cover with water. Add salt. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium so that it is still boiling. You will notice a brown scum float to the top as it is boiling, remove with a large spoon and discard along with any fat you see floating at the top. When the scum has stopped forming, add all the vegetables, tomato sauce, parsley, bay leaf and pepper. Add water to just cover the vegetables if you need to. Cover, but leave the lid ajar so steam can escape. Lower the heat so it is still simmering and let cook at least an hour. The longer you cook it, the better it tastes. I usually simmer it on the back burner at least two hours. When the soup has cooked, strain the broth into another pot. I use an actual strainer to get rid of all the bits of parsley and such. Take out the meat and vegetables. Remove the meat from the bones and cut up into bite sized pieces. Do the same with the vegetables. Add these back to the soup. You can add cooked noodles, rice or small pasta at this point. If you want just clear soup and pasta, use the chicken for another meal and eat, or discard the veggies. Taste and season with salt and pepper. We serve with grated Parmesan. Enjoy!
