My Doctors Mamas Chicken Soup Recipes

Steps:

• Place chicken in an 8 quart stockpot. Add onion, celery, parsley, salt, peppercorns, and bay leaves.
• Fill pot with water to cover by 2-3 inches. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer, skimming foam from surface.
• Simmer for 1 hour, checking to be sure soup is still simmering and to make sure level doesn't drop too low (if it does, add more cold water, bring back to simmer, and cook a little longer).
• Remove chicken from soup and let sit, covered, until cool enough to handle; continue simmering soup in the meantime.
• Remove meat from bones and return bones, skin, etc to soup. Refrigerate chicken meat.
• Continue simmering soup. Soup may be simmered for another 1/2 hour or so, or may be simmered for a few hours - the time at this point is quite flexible. Just keep checking the broth level now and then; add cold water and return to simmer if it drops too low.
• Taste and correct seasoning. Strain through a few layers of cheesecloth into a clean stockpot. Discard vegetables and bones. Keep broth hot while you prepare the desired starch.
• If using potatoes, peel and cube and simmer until tender. Place some potato chunks and chicken meat into bowls and ladle hot broth over.
• If using rice, cook rice according to package directions. Place some rice and chicken meat into bowls and ladle hot broth over.
• If using noodles, cook according to package directions and drain well. Place some noodles and chicken meat into bowls and ladle hot broth over.
• This soup may be defatted if you make it in advance, cool quickly in an ice bath, and chill in the refrigerator. Once chilled, the fat will solidify on the surface and may be skimmed off. At this point, the broth may be frozen for later use (with or without meat, and without potatoes or rice), or it may be heated and served.

Steps:

• Put chicken, onions, 2 unpeeled carrots, 2 celery stalks, turnip, garlic and bay leaf in a large soup pot. Fill with water to within two inches of top of pot and cover. ( I use a big soup pot, like a 15qt. If you like stronger soup, use a smaller pot.) Set over high heat and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer uncovered, for 2 hours. Occasionally skim the froth as it develops on the surface and discard.
• Remove from heat. Place a colander in another pot big enough to contain the stock. Pour soup through the colander into the second pot. Remove colander to separate stock from vegetables and chicken pieces.
• Pour the stock back into the pot. Let cool and then refrigerate stock several hours to overnight. Meanwhile, remove chicken from the bone, tear into edible pieces and set aside. Discard vegetables and bones.
• Remove and discard congealed fat from the surface of the refrigerated stock. Place the pot of stock over high heat and bring to a boil.
• Lower heat and add salt, pepper, dill and sugar. Simmer about 30 minutes. Add sugar and wine, simmer another 10 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Lower heat enough to keep soup hot, add reserved chicken. Can add matzo balls or egg noodles as desired.
• Can be frozen before adding matzo or noodles if desired.

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the onion, celery and carrots and saute until soft, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the chopped garlic and saute until fragrant, 1 minute more. Whisk in the flour and stir frequently until it coats the vegetables and makes a paste. Cook until it reaches a pale blonde color, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the chicken stock, making sure there are no lumps. Add the bay leaf, hot sauce, and Worcestershire and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Let the soup simmer for 15 minutes to thicken and develop the flavors.
• Reduce the heat and add the chicken and the noodles. Do not boil the chicken or it will become tough. Add the peas and the dill and simmer gently for 10 more minutes.
• Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper, if needed. Ladle the soup into serving bowls and serve.

Steps:

• Place the chicken, celery, carrots, onions, parsnip (if using), parsley, peppercorns, bay leaves and salt in a large soup pot and cover with cold water by 1 inch.
• Bring to a boil over high heat, then immediately reduce the heat to very low. Adjust the heat until the soup is "smiling": barely moving on the surface, with an occasional bubble breaking through. Cook uncovered, until the chicken is very tender and falling off the bone, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• When cool enough to handle, use tongs to transfer chicken from the pot to a container. Taste the broth and continue to simmer it until it is concentrated and tasty. Strain broth through a fine sieve (or a colander lined with cheesecloth) into a separate container. Discard all the solids from the strainer (or reserve the vegetables, chill and serve with vinaigrette, if you wish).
• Refrigerate chicken pieces and broth separately for at least 8 hours (or up to 3 days), until a thick layer of yellow fat has risen to the top of the broth.
• When ready to finish the soup, use your fingers to separate chicken breast meat from bones and skin. Discard bones and skin. Use two forks to pull the breast meat apart into soft chunks, or use a knife and cut into bite-size pieces. (Reserve dark meat for another use.)
• Skim chicken fat from top of broth and set aside. Place 3 tablespoons of the fat in a soup pot with a lid. Add leeks, stir to coat, and heat over medium heat until leeks begin to fry. Then reduce the heat to a gentle sizzle and cook, stirring often, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes.
• Add carrots, sprinkle with salt, stir, and cover the pot. Cook until vegetables are just tender, about 5 minutes more. (Keep in mind that vegetables will continue to cook in the soup.) Do not brown.
• Pour broth into pot with vegetables and heat to a simmer. Add noodles and simmer until heated through, soft and plumped with chicken broth. Add the breast meat, then taste broth and add salt and pepper to taste. For best flavor, soup should have some golden droplets of fat on top; if needed, add more chicken fat one teaspoon at a time.
• Serve immediately, in a tureen or from the pot, sprinkling each serving with herbs.

Steps:

• Fill a large pot with 4 quarts water; place over high heat and bring to a boil. Add chicken, return to a boil, skimming off any foam that has accumulated at the top. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking, uncovered, for 2 hours.
• Add celery, carrots, onion, parsnip, dill, and parsley. Continue cooking slowly, uncovered, for 1 hour.
• Set a strainer over a large bowl and strain soup; discard solids. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate, covered, overnight.
• Remove the layer of fat that has formed on top of the soup overnight and discard. Place soup in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Just before serving, add escarole and cook until just tender, about 3 minutes.