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Its one of my favorite (true) stories I tell –
It was one of those rare days when I took a lunch break from my job. While waiting for my order, in walked this forlorn-looking, sniffling and coughing young lady. She looked like we all feel when we have the flu. Anyway, she said had called her family back in North Carolina asking what to do about being sick, and her mother had told her to go find a “Jewish Deli” and ask for chicken soup.
Its a story that always brings a smile to my face. Jewish or not, everyone seems to know about chicken soup. Heck – there’s even a whole series of books that took inspiration from it. Does chicken soup really have healing qualities beyond your usual dish? Is is something spiritual or medicinal?
Whatever it is, there’s nothing better on a dreary day that a hot bowl of great chicken soup – or just good any kind of soup for all you leaf eaters vegetarians out there. On Thursdays, my daughter always asks to help make soup for Shabbat, which starts Friday night. Its a great family activity it gets dinner made, the kichen warm and keeps my bouncing three year old busy for an hour – and the best thing is she really is a big help in the kitchen. Her favorite thing to do? Peel onions! By herself!
Naomi’s Recipe for Chicken Soup:
Ingredients:
Olive Oil
3 Leeks, white ends only, washed, dried and sliced (regular onions will work fine too)
3 carrots – 2 sliced, 1 grated
1 turnip cut into chunks
1 parsnip cut into chunks
2.5-3.5 pounds of chicken bones. A whole chicken will suffice as well.
¼ cup mixed beans and/or barley
2 bay leaves
¼ cup chopped dill
Salt, pepper to taste
Boiling water (I use about 3-ish quarts, but you can use more or less – depending on size of your pot)
In a pot, sauté the leeks, carrots, turnip and parsnips for a few minutes on medium heat until slightly translucent, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken, beans and boiling water so the water level is near top of pot or at desired amount. Raise heat until boiling, then cover and lower to simmer for about an hour. Remove chicken (at this point you can pick off pieces of the chicken meat and place back in pot or discard – as you wish). Skim off fat. Add bay leaves, chopped dill, grated carrot and let simmer another ½ hour. Remove bay leaves. Season to taste. Soup freezes well.
