As a child, I spent a lot of time in my grandparents' house—time in the kitchen with my grandmother cooking, and time looking at medical journals in my grandfather's medical office (situated on the ground level of their home in Brooklyn).
One of the first recipes I remember cooking with my grandmother, at around the age of 8, was chicken soup. To this day chicken soup is a staple in my home. I prepare a pot at least 2 times a week—using the chicken for chicken salad (one of my daughter's favorites), adding bits of chicken to the soup when serving it as a first course, and using the chicken to supplement my dogs' and cat's diet, which they look forward to every day.
This is a perfect stock to have on hand to use as the basis when preparing other soup recipes. Vegetable stock can always be used instead of chicken stock in the preparation of many soup recipes.
Directions
- In a large stock pot, combine all ingredients together and bring to a boil.
- Skim off the foam which rises to the top.
- Reduce heat, cover and bring to a simmer. Cook for 2 hours.
- Strain the soup and discard the vegetables. Skim fat from the surface, using a paper towel to dab the surface and absorb additional fat, or place the chicken soup in the refrigerator overnight. The fat will harden on the surface and will then be easy to remove.
- Add the chicken meat back to the soup if desired. When serving, add pieces of the boiled chicken, fresh dill, fresh parsley, and the freshly steamed carrots and celery.
℞ M.D. Notes
- Options to add to the soup: quinoa, brown rice, pastina, matzoh balls, spaetzle, noodles or dumplings.
- For increased nutrition add pieces of chicken; steamed diced vegetables like carrots, zucchini, asparagus, shredded spinach or finely shredded kale; quinoa.
- This is a great meal 3–5 days following chemotherapy and a good broth to sip the days following chemotherapy for hydration.
- It can also be soothing just to sip the broth.
- Soup can be stored in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
- Stock also freezes well.
- If I ever need additional stock for recipes and don't have homemade stock on hand, I buy Pacific Natural Foods Free Range Chicken Broth or Trader Joe's Chicken Broth.
