Chicken soup has been around for centuries and for good reason; it’s a classic comfort food which spans many cultures and which almost everyone loves. While some people claim chicken soup has medicinal qualities, and it’s been used to treat all manner of illnesses, I believe that any soup made with love warms our hearts and makes us feel better! Below is a basic recipe for making your own chicken soup. Since I usually cook for just two these days, this will yield a small but delicious batch of about four servings.
IT TAKES A CHICKEN
After roasting a small (approx 4 1/2 lb) chicken and enjoying that as a meal, clean off all the leftover chicken meat and reserve for later. Separately put aside the carcass, skin, bones, and whatever savory browned liquid was left in the roasting pan. This is the stuff you will use to make chicken stock which you can then freeze to use in any number of dishes or, as I’m doing today, turn it into delicious chicken soup.
START WITH THE STOCK
Making basic chicken stock is fast, easy, and SO much better than whatever you can buy in the grocery store. If I want soup for dinner, I make the stock in the morning; it’s the all-important aromatic and flavorful soup base. From the small roast chicken, I toss all the leftover chicken bones, carcass, skin and roasting pan gleanings into a large stockpot and add about six cups of water. Then I add a couple of stalks of celery, a carrot, some onion, 2 garlic cloves and a small bunch of fresh herbs such as parsley, thyme, and sage. Amounts vary depending upon what I have on hand, but you get the idea. I then add a teaspoon of sea salt and some ground black pepper, bring everything to a boil, turn the heat down low and simmer for a couple of hours.
COOL IT
After turning off the heat, I let the stock sit for a while to cool down enough so I can handle it safely. At that point, I strain the whole mess into a large bowl and allow it to sit and cool some more, placing it in the fridge if there’s room. The cooling causes a layer of fat to form on the top which I remove with a large spoon and use to saute the vegetables for the soup.
MAKE THE SOUP
After rinsing and wiping out the same stockpot to remove any debris, I can now add the chicken fat, a medium chopped onion, a couple of chopped carrots, a couple of chopped celery stalks, and some thinly sliced garlic cloves. Sprinkle the veggies with a little sea salt and saute over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the stock, bring it all back to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer again for about 25 minutes. Add two cups of the reserved chicken meat, bring back to a boil, turn down the heat and gently simmer for an additional 20 minutes. While the soup is simmering, separately cook some noodles, broken spaghetti, small macaroni, or orzo which will thicken the broth and add some creaminess. I use about a cup of dry pasta for this recipe and cook “al dente” since the pasta will continue to cook in the hot soup. Once that’s done, stir in the drained pasta last. The more pasta and chicken used, the thicker the soup will be. Add some fresh chopped herbs now if you’d like.
SERVE AND ENJOY!
Taste and add more salt and pepper if desired. Keep warm until ready to serve or let the whole soup cool and refrigerate for another day – the flavor will actually improve if you let it sit for 24 hours. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese. Italian parsley add a nice garnish!
“M’M M’M GOOD”
You now have homemade chicken soup ready to enjoy, the perfect warming meal for a cold, raw day.
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