Best thing to make and have in your kitchen , ready to use for a soup or in stews , sauces ; nice thing is too that it freezes well so we can make a good pot of it .
We will need a few ingredients like : whole chicken or parts ( bone in , skin on ) ; vegetables as carrots , celery root , parsnip , kohlrabi , sweet onions ( Vidalia , Spanish … ) ; seasonings and herbs like ; fresh turmeric , garlic and ginger ( those shredded ) , bay leaves , fresh squeezed lemon juice ; lovage , celery leaves or flat leaf parsley ; spices : whole peppercorns , pink Himalayan salt , Vegeta seasoning , a little white ground pepper and 1-2 pcs. star anis ( if we have ajwain seeds add a pinch or two , if not add 1-2 springs of thyme ) ) .
In a large stock pot get the chicken in first and cover well with cold water and let it start boiling until foam starts forming on top ; skim that foam well and add the peeled / largely cut vegetables and add more water to fill up the pot ; when it starts boiling again skim again any forming foam ( maybe add a couple of eggshells in which will attract some impurities ) ; get a reasonable amount of the herbs , spices and seasonings ; reduce heat to a slow simmer and let boil until the vegetables are nice and tender but still al dente ; scoop out some of the veggies if you mean to make a soup right after and set aside ; leave the rest on simmering until the chicken is well cooked and tender .
Scoop the chicken and let cool aside ( then clean the meat away from bones and skin , decide whether you will use it in soup , maybe chicken salads etc. and cut or shred as you wish ) ; the rest of the veggies in the pot could be picked aside and pureed to add in a creamy soup or other purees …
To chicken soup i love to add some garnishes like small diced colored sweet peppers , chopped green onions , lovage /parsley or fresh dill nicely chopped ; so many choices to add to a chicken soup , we can go with noodles or other smaller pastas , all sorts of dumplings , rice …. lots of awesome possibilities .
In the photo above there are cream of wheat dumplings , a favorite of mine ; easy to make : just separate 2-3 eggs , add small pinch of salt to yolks and beat lightly with a fork ; whip with a hand mixer the egg whites until soft peaks form ; add whites to yolks and gently fold in ; start sprinkling a slow stream of cream of wheat while mixing it with a fork ; when the fork starts drawing circles stop and get ready to add batter to soup ; the soup should be turned down to a soft simmer and with a spoon ( dip the spoon first in the hot liquid ) scoop up quenelles of batter and lower in the pot ; wait a min. or 2 and gently swirl the dumplings then cover the pot and let simmer until dumplings puff up ; check one to see that it’s cooked through , if not sprinkle a dash of cold water over them , cover and cook a few more mins.
Add garnishes you’d like and enjoy a bowl of yummy in the tummy soup 🙂