Chicken Soup for the Soul
This week chicken backs were three for $5 so we decided to make soup. This is a quote on the cooking method from Wikipedia (March 2012):
The chicken flavor of the soup is most potent when the chicken is simmered in water
with saltand only a few vegetables, such as a mirepoix of onion, carrots, and celery. Variations on the flavor are gained by adding root vegetables such as parsnip, potato, sweet potato and celery root, herbs such as parsley, dill, other vegetables such as zucchini, whole garlic cloves or tomatoes and black pepper. The soup should be brought slowly to a boil and then simmered in a covered pot on a very low flame for one to three hours, adding water if necessary. A clearer broth is achieved by skimming the film of congealed fat off the top of the soup as it is cooking, first bringing the chicken to boil from a pot of cold water and discarding the water before continuing, or straining it through a strainer or cheesecloth. Saffron or turmeric are sometimes added as a yellow colorant.
No salt! I’m also not sure why you would discard the water when that’s the broth but I assume they mean to boil the chicken and then reboil the chicken again?! Mirepoix is a French term that refers to the common vegetable base of using three aromatics (onions, carrots and celery) but that combination varies by region. I have also heard of using ginger, peppers or shallots, etc.
We used carrots, parsnip, celery, garlic and white turnip (which is not rutabaga) and the chickens were boiled in sodium free (low fat) broth with pepper corns and bay leaves. At the end I added green beans, peas, and a left over head of broccoli.
