Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 1 chicken, whole
salt and pepper
canola oil
1 large onion
3 large carrots
1 - 2 parsnips
1 bunch of celery
1 rutabaga (optional)
1 head of garlic
1 large dried chile anejo (California or Pasada), available in ethnic food aisle of most supermarkets
water
bay leaf
coriander
1 bunch Italian parsley, chopped
matzah meal
eggs
Equipment: big pot, several large bowls, big metal colander/strainer, fat separator (optional)
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Directions: |
Directions:Cut chicken into 4-6 pieces: legs, breasts, wings. Salt and pepper heavily on both sides. Heat heavy, large pot on stove over med/high heat. Add 1-2 T. of oil to pot, heat until shimmering. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook without moving for 5 minutes. Turn chicken; cook for an additional 3 minutes. Throw in back bone and any other chicken left over parts. Add roughly chopped onion until it starts to brown. Peel carrots and parsnips, add whole to pot. Trim celery and add about half of the bunch to pot. Cut rutabaga into quarters and add. Cut head of garlic in half along the equator exposing all the cloves add to pot. Add water until covering all the vegetables; bring to boil. Trim stem and remove seeds from chile; add to water. Add bay leaf, kosher salt to taste (½ to 1 T.), pepper and coriander. Cover and reduce to simmer and cook for 45 minutes. Add chopped parsley in the last 5 minutes. After 45 minutes, use tongs to remove chicken parts and large vegetables into separate bowls. Drain soup through colander into another large bowl (gets rid of bay leaf, onions, garlic and chile). Allow to cool until you can handle ingredients. Pull chicken meat off bone and reserve, discard skin and bones. Cut cooked celery, carrots, parsnips and rutabaga into bite sized pieces. Run soup through fat separator or skim excess fat from surface. Reserve tasty soup fat (this is the schmaltz for your matzah balls). Return cut vegetables and skimmed broth to soup pot. You can also return the chicken (in my house, some are particular about light/dark meat so I don't add chicken until serving individual bowls). Can serve at this point with minced parsley for garnish. however, it actually will taste better after cooled completely, refrigerated and reheated the next day. Make matzah balls according to instructions on matzah meal (at least a double if not triple recipe); instead of oil use the reserved fat from the soup (optional... but makes the best matzah balls you have ever had). Cook 20-30 min as directed in salted boiling water, then add to soup as you are serving. Yes this is a lot of extra steps, but results are great. |
This recipe for Chicken Soup – Reeeaaallllyy Good Soup with Matzah Balls, by 