Chicken Soup
This is the base for comfort food like chicken noodle and matzo ball soup, and a generations-old remedy for the common cold. For the chicken, you can either purchase a chicken already cut into parts — at the meat counter of the supermarket or in the refrigerated meat section — or you can buy a whole chicken and cut it up yourself.
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 8
- 4 cups water
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 4-pound chicken, cut in 8 pieces
- 4 carrots, peeled and sliced into ½″ pieces
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, sliced into ½″ pieces
- 1 clove garlic, sliced
- 3 peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- salt to taste
- chopped fresh parsley
Put the water, chicken broth, chicken, vegetables, peppercorns, and bay leaf in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 2 hours.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken from the broth and set aside until it is cool enough to handle.
Remove bay leaf and peppercorns from soup broth and add turmeric and salt to taste.
Remove the bones and skin from the chicken meat and discard. Chop the meat into bite-size pieces and return it to the soup broth.
Serve soup sprinkled with parsley.
Matzo Balls
Using a fork, mix 4 eggs and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons water, 2 teaspoons salt, and 2 teaspoons chopped dill; mix. Add 1 cup matzo meal; mix. Cover; refrigerate 15 minutes. Scoop walnut-size balls with wet fingers and drop into boiling water or broth. Cook for 35 minutes. Serve in chicken soup.
