Before we get into making it, lets talk a bit about chicken soup's reputation. So it is commonly know that it is one of THE BEST medicines for times when you are feeling "under the weather". What many people do not realize is how hearty and nutritious, if made like this, chicken soup can be - it's a complete meal! The slow and gentle boil of the chicken and veggies provide you with a protein and vitamin packed, super-duper (yeah I just said that), cold kicking', good for your soul meal. I bet you can picture it in your mind!
So the prep-time for the soup is about 10 minutes before it's cooked and 10 minutes after, for shredding the chicken, and the boil time in-between that is 2 hours… so in a nut shell, for 20 minutes of prep and 2 hours of an occasional stirring, you can make one hell-of-a soup. Here goes-
You will need:
a large pot
1 whole chicken (a 6 pounder will do)
water
3 parsnips
4 carrots
1 small onion
4 ribs of celery
5 red bliss potatoes
3 small turnips (or one large)
salt
pepper
parsley (fresh or dried)
To make:
Fill your large pot with water to about 1/2 - 2/3 way full and start to boil it while you rinse the chicken. **Make sure to remove the sack-o-guts (I can vomit just thinking about it) because a good friend of mine cooked a whole chicken with them still inside - true story!
So while your chicken is taking a swim and the water is warming up, its time for the "chopping of the veg". I cut all of my veggies to about 1/4" thickness except for the carrots and onion. The carrots are sliced thinly and the onion should be coarsely chopped.
These beauties are parsnips…they look like white carrots and do you know what? They taste kind of like them too, that is with a little hint of a parsley. They are high in fiber, vitamin C, folic acid, manganese, and copper, have a similar nutritional value to potatoes, but are lower in calories.
Speaking of potatoes…they are a good source of potassium, vitamins B6 and C, and niacin. It is important to leave the skins on your little potato cowboys (just give them a good scrubbin') because that's were most of the nutrients are packed.
On to the celery. For some reason, of which I do not understand, people think celery is not that nutritionally important! Oddly enough, it is a very, very good source of vitamin C and fiber, and a great source of B vitamins. From an herbal standpoint (yes its considered an herb by some) it contains coumarin compounds which have been know to aid in cancer prevention, lower blood pressure (studied by the University of Chicago Medical Center) and help relieve migraines! Woohoo for Celery!!
Next you want to work on the turnips. Never seen or heard of a turnip? It's another root veggie that I absolutely love. Although they are a "starchy" vegetable, they contain less calories than potatoes and are an outstanding source of fiber, vitamin C, folic acid, and copper.
Are you starting to see why chicken soup is so good for helping heal from colds? All of these veggies are super charged with vitamins, especially Vitamin C, which is a common addition to everyone's cold regimen!
So lastly we have the onion and carrots. Onions, too, are full of vitamins C, B1, K, and B6, biotin, folic acid, and fiber. There have been numerous publications wherein onions have been found to lower blood lipid levels, prevent clot formation, and lower blood pressure. Carrots on the other hand, have the most vitamin A out of any other vegetable. They are an excellent antioxidant which can help prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease. More commonly known, they are great for your eyes.
Okay. So now that we got all of the chopping out of the way (along with a mini-nutrition lesson), toss it into the pot with your chubby little chicken. Season with salt, pepper, and parsley to taste. I use about 1 tsp of fresh ground pepper, 1/2 tbsp of fresh ground kosher salt, and 1/2 tbsp of parsley (I used dried).
Speaking of parsley, it is a great antioxidant and is a warrior in the digestive and urinary tracts. Don't worry if you feel like this isn't enough seasoning… I always add additional seasoning to my serving since everyone has a different preference on the strength of seasoning in their food.
Pretty isn't it? So that's it for round one of the prep. By now, the water should be boiling - turn it down to a gentle boil, cover with the lid propped open and leave for two hours. Give it a little stir every now and again. Don't be surprise when you go to stir one of the times and your chicken is floating like he is on a pool raft - this is what he is supposed to do!
So after two hours, your chicken will be fully cooked and pretty much fall off of the bone. Very (and I mean very) carefully take your chicken out of the pot and place on a platter. Remove the skin (I'm gagging again) and remove all of the chicken meat from the bones. Make sure to be cautious of the little bones - you don't want to choke and bite the big one… you want to be around to enjoy the soup, ya know?!
Once it is off of the bone, you can either keep the bones and make a stock for use in the future or toss them in the garbage-io. Now take two forks and shred the chicken into pieces like the picture below. Before you add it back to the pot, fish around in the soup to make sure you didn't lose a wind or a leg in there. When you are sure, add the shredded chicken back to the pot and give it a good ole' stirrin'.
Now its time for serving… if you like, you can add some cooked pasta (we use ditalini) or some cooked rice. I also top mine with some grated cheese (it's amazing).
And there you go - hearty, vitamin packed, homemade chicken soup with a ton more nutrients, a fraction of the salt, and a none of the preservatives of the canned stuff.
Enjoy!
Danielle
References
Hartung, T. (2011). Homegrown herbs. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing
Murrary, M., Pizzorno, J., & Pizzorno, L. (2005). The encyclopedia of healing foods. New York, NY: Atra Books.
Danielle, This looks so yummy! Now that I am trying to eat healthier, I will have to try this. Thank you for sharing your recipe! ---Kerry
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