Maggie's Farm

Chicken Soup is a force for good in the world.  Without being Jewish (my Mom used Campbell's), I try to make it the Jewish grandma way but with minor adjustments.

Here's what I do about 3 times a year:

Take a half-eaten chicken carcass (so there's plenty of meat left on it),  cover it with water in a big pot, and simmer.  Meanwhile, cut up a bag of carrots, a few onions, a few parsnips, small bag of celery, some chopped garlic, and toss them in whenever.

Throw in some thyme and bay leaf, a few whole cloves (of clove, not garlic), some chopped parsley, a bunch of peppercorns, and salt. Simmer for a couple of hours..

Do not skim off the fat. Then strain it all through a coarse strainer and put the soup into another pot. Salvage all the carrot, some onion, celery, parsnips - and all the meat you can find in the strainings - into the soup. Salt and pepper to preference, and a little more chopped pasley.

Now for the noodles, because Jewish chicken soup needs some noodles. Some people prefer just a few, some people like lots of noodles. Regardless, the only correct noodles for chicken soup are luchen (Jewish), aka kluski (in Polish). Very firm egg noodles which stay firm and expand minimally. Throw in a handful or two when you warm up the soup for serving. 

How do you make chicken soup?