Chicken Soup

Name: Chicken Soup
Yield: Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients: 1 whole chicken (3 to 4 pounds), cut into 8 parts (page 110); 1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces; 1 medium parsnip, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces; 2 celery stalks, cut into 1-inch pieces; 1 medium onion, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces; 3 sprigs parsley; 2 sprigs thyme; 1 dried bay leaf; 1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns; 1 teaspoon coarse salt; 7 to 8 cups water; 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (1 cup); 2 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (1/2 cup); 1 medium parsnip, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (3/4 cup); Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

January 26, 2012

If soup-making is an indication of a cook’s talents, chicken soup is the truest test, since the soup should ideally offer warmth and nourishment as well as flavor. It is, after all, the ultimate comfort food. Once you’ve committed this basic soup technique to memory, the possibilities for variations—and other meals—are limitless. Making the soup is essentially a form of poaching chicken in an aromatic broth. The chicken should always be just covered with liquid—in this case, water—which should remain at a gentle simmer. Skimming the surface is critical to the soup’s success, since the impurities from the chicken would cause the broth to become cloudy. Straining out the aromatics will also help produce a cleaner broth; the vegetables will have become very soft and lost much of their individual flavors by this time, so it is necessary to replenish them with “garnish” vegetables, added at the end. The variations below provide flavorful alternatives to the basic soup recipe—one with matzo balls and the other with springtime vegetables, including green beans, peas, and watercress.

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