hotelandfoodlover: Sandra's warming chicken soup - the natural immune booster
Homemade chicken soup is more than just a classic - it warms, strengthens the immune system and is simply good for you. With a whole soup chicken, fresh vegetables and aromatic spices, you can make a hearty broth that is not only beneficial for colds. What makes it special? Some of the vegetables are cooked for flavour, while the garnish is cooked separately so that it remains firm to the bite the next day. A real feel-good dish that is perfect for preparing, freezing and using in a variety of ways! 🍲✨
Brown the onions: Cut the onions in half with the skin on and fry in a pan without fat until they are dark brown. This gives them a rich colour and a more intense flavour.
Pour in water: Once the onions have browned, add cold water to the pan (3-4 litres).
Add the chicken and skim:Place the washed soup chicken in the pan. Bring the water to the boil again and add salt. Keep skimming off the rising foam with a ladle.
Add the soup vegetables and spices:As soon as the chicken is boiling and the first foam has been skimmed off, add the peeled carrots in one piece, the leek cut in half lengthways and the celery root cut in half.
Add the bunch of parsley, bay leaves, garlic and peppercorns. Continue to skim off any foam that forms.Leave the soup to simmer gently at a low temperature for approx. 3 hours.
Prepare the vegetable garnish separately:Peel and slice the 5 carrots.Peel half the celery root and cut into cubes.Cut the leek lengthways, remove the outer leaves, wash and cut into rings.Cook the prepared vegetables in a separate pan in salted water until al dente.
Note: The vegetables are cooked separately so that they are still fresh and firm to the bite the next day.
Flavour:After the cooking time, remove the chicken from the soup and strain the stock through a sieve. Flavour the stock with salt and pepper.
Chop up the chicken meat and use as a garnish.
Further use:You can freeze the soup in portions.You can use the remaining chicken meat to make chicken fricassee.You can puree the vegetables that have been cooked in the soup and turn them into a vegetable soup.
Cook the pasta separately:Cook the soup noodles or rice separately as required.
Serve:Serve the soup with chicken, vegetables and noodles or rice. Garnish with fresh parsley