Chicken Soup: The Ultimate Comfort Food!

Chicken Soup: The Ultimate Comfort Food!

After a week of travel on the Rhine River sampling the culinary offerings of four countries - Netherlands, Germany, France, and Switzerland - I decided that our first dinner at home was going to be chicken soup.  Chicken soup has to be the ultimate comfort food, frequently referred to as “Jewish Penicillin”. And the name suits it; chicken soup done right cures what ails you. It was the perfect dish for two weary travelers, recently returned from distant lands, after breathing who knows what on airplanes, and both suffering from a serious case of jet lag.

I have fond memories of my Mother making chicken soup around the holidays, especially Passover, where Matzo Balls were always added.  I have never made matzo balls myself, nor have I ever looked at a recipe for chicken soup until today - even though I have made it probably three or four dozen times.

But I do remember a few family secrets regarding the making of matzo balls, and maybe, if you are lucky, I might entice my brother Joe into writing a guest blog about the art of making perfect matzo balls.  Joe is sort of a foodie too, and spends a fair amount of time in the kitchen.  (I actually called him today to consult on what herbs he adds to his soup.)

What I know for sure about chicken soup with matzo balls:

·      Never open the lid on the pot they are cooking in

·      I think soda water comes in somewhere

·      Don’t actually cook them in the soup

Chicken soup is incredibly simple to make. You start off with one large whole chicken – discard organs but throw the neck in the pot too.  Use the largest pot you have.  Add two cut up yellow onions, and four chopped up stalks of celery.  I add thyme, about a teaspoon or more, at least a tablespoon of basil, and about a tablespoon of dill.  Fill the pot with water just above the chicken.  Some folks add salt and pepper at this time; I might add just a little pepper, but for the most part I leave salt and pepper to be added at the table to individual taste.

·      1 large chicken

·      2 yellow onions

·      4 large celery stalks

·      3 medium to large carrots

·      2 medium parsnips

·      thyme

·      basil

·      dill

·      1 bunch parsley

·      1 tablespoon minced garlic

·      chicken bouillon

Set to boil and add one whole bunch of parsley roughly chopped and a tablespoon of minced garlic.  Bring pot to boil, then cover, reduce to medium heat, and go do something else for at least an hour and a half to two hours.  Did I mention that if you are going to make chicken soup, while it is very easy, it is an all-afternoon ordeal? So, don’t try to make this comfort meal in a rush!

When you return to your pot after a couple of hours, your chicken should be falling apart.  Fish out the chicken, the bones, the skin, and then set aside to cool. 

Now here is where the Sklar family secret comes in – add bouillon.  I actually use about 1½ tablespoon of the low sodium “Better than Bouillon” brand that comes in a jar. 

There is a story behind this Sklar family secret. Caveat: I was only about 2 or 3 years old, but as I remember it, here is how the story goes:  Shortly after the “Six-Day War” that took place in 1967, my Mom traveled by herself with me, my brother Joe, and my sister Roberta to Israel to meet up with my Dad who is an Israeli.  Dad had gone in advance to his parents to make sure it was safe for us to follow.  So here is a mid-thirty-year-old lady traveling half way around the world with three children by herself in the late 1960s to Israel which had just completed a war. 

Not knowing what she might be facing, my Mom packed chicken bouillon cubes, thinking she could always find hot water.  She arrives in Israel and we fast forward to her first Sabbath dinner at her in-laws little apartment in Haifa.  Times are tough in Israel, and people have to be resourceful.  My Grandmother, who was so pleased to have not only her daughter-in-law there with her but also her three grandchildren, poured love into making a special Sabbath dinner that included, of course, chicken soup and roasted chicken. 

She soaked the chicken in the hot water, before removing it and roasting it as the main course.   My Mom who had peeked in the kitchen and sampled the evening dishes, noticed something greatly lacking from my Grandmother’s soup – flavor.  So my resourceful mother added just a few of her bouillon cubes without my Grandmother knowing.  I wish I had been old enough to have seen and to remember the look on my Grandmother’s face when she tasted her soup for the first time. It was a miracle of flavor that she could never figure out or duplicate!

With the chicken now removed, I now let the soup rest during this period at simmer.  Add in two medium parsnips and three medium to large carrots that have been chopped, not diced.  Cutting them too small might produce mushy veggies – yuck!  I like my root vegetables to have some texture to them. 

When the chicken has cooled, pick out the bones, cartledge, and skin.  Everything else gets put back in the soup after you have hand shred.  I don’t chop it up; you will have enough smaller pieces and I like to see actual chicken in my soupspoon!  Return the chicken with all of its “goodness” back into the bowl, and bring the heat up to medium – don’t bring to a boil - and let it cook for another half hour to hour.  About twenty minutes before you serve, add in one package of egg noodles. 

You have just made enough soup to not only have dinner tonight, but leftovers for days to come.  You can also give away some to any friends who might be sick or in the need of some comfort food.  I also always reserve enough to freeze at least one or two dinners’ worth.  As we prepare for the coming of winter, this is one you’ll want to try.