Classic Chicken Soup

It is the ultimate comfort food. Originally a poor mans dish, the last bit of flavor from the chicken bones drawn out in a broth. That, in turn, would be the basis of the soup. To that, add meat, if there was any to spare, vegetables that were available locally and maybe grain based dumplings like matzo balls to make it filling. What it has become, is part of history. But above all, classic chicken soup is easy to make and delicious.

Soups and stews have a long history. We’ve been cooking them since we first figured out how to make clay pots. Yeah, it’s difficult to make or eat a soup or stew without a pot. I’ve mentioned stew a few times, maybe I should differentiate between the two. Well, the only difference is the amount of liquid. Soups, obviously have more, but the ingredients can be the same. In the beginning everything was tossed into a pot, meat and vegetables, and cooked over a fire. Hearty and satisfying. As with everything, it evolved. Became regional specific. Locally sourced spices added to change the flavor some. The meat and vegetable components evolved, and in some cases, were eliminated, and became vegetable based. But, no matter the ingredients, they’re all hearty and tasty.

When building a soup, it all starts with the broth. It will be in every spoon of the soup you eat. It will make the flavor base. I have a couple of posts this; broths and soups, and, a delicious chicken broth. With this particular recipe, I’m going to stay close to it’s original roots, and use some homemade broth I have in the freezer. So that will be the liquid component. If you don’t have any, then, from a box works fine. I mention box broth because a whole box will be needed, 4 cups, 1 quart. If you only have cans, that works fine. Just, don’t use plain water. The flavors will not have enough time to develop during cooking. There are also seasoning cubes that could be added if using water, however, they are extremely high in salt. Being on a low sodium regimen I don’t use them.

Having taken care of the liquid portion, let’s move on to the flavor layers. As with all soups and stews, a mirepoix will add another layer of flavor. Just a nice word for something you’ve been doing for years, celery, onions and carrots. There’s a couple of ways to prepare a mirepoix. It really depends on cooking time. The vegetables have to have a chance to cook. If it’s part of a slow cooker recipe that will cook all day, leave them raw and, throw them in with the other ingredients. However, in this case, where the soup will cook for maybe an hour or so, they need to be cooked before everything else is added, to release their flavors.

Chop the vegetables fine, sauté them in the pan you’re going to be cooking the soup in, over a low heat and allow them to soften. When the mirepoix is cooked, add the protein. In this case cubed chicken. Also add the herbs. I’m not going fancy here, classic really. As soups and stews evolved, one of the things that happened was they took on a regional flavor. Obviously locally sourced meats, vegetables and herbs. I’m going to follow that idea with temperate zone herbs; parsley, oregano, thyme and basil. Added with the chicken so the flavors soak in.

The final component to the soup is vegetables. Well, carrots and celery are already there. There’s lot’s of options here, I like to add a coarse cut russet potato for some starch. I’ll also add mushrooms because I love them, sliced up is fine. Peas too, they’re tasty and add some color. I use frozen and add 10-15 mins before done. Also, I also add egg noodles. Classic chicken soup always has some pasta in it, and I like egg noodles. Add 10 mins before done. Everyone has a preference, so, it’s negotiable, you do have options, I’m just saying what’s in my soup.

That’s it classic chicken soup, hearty and delicious. Serve with crusty bread or croutons. But, either way, enjoy and thank you for reading my post.