Chicken Soup

Over the years, I have made many attempts at making chicken soup. The first was right after I moved out on my own. I had roasted a chicken, which went successfully, and wanted make soup with the leftovers. It went well until I added about 2 or 3 cups of rice and it absorbed all of the stock and I was left with chicken-y rice. Several times, I cooked all of the vegetables with the stock and used them in the soup. I wouldn't say it was bad but after boiling that long the vegetables lose all of the their flavor to the broth.

This particular version is particularly delicious, if I do say so myself. This is the kind of chicken soup I crave. The kind that cures a cold and warms your soul. It's comforting and reminds me of being home.

Chicken Soup

1 leftover chicken and any extra meat

1 onion, quartered

5 cloves of garlic, smashed

6 small carrots, peeled and halved

A handful of fresh dill

4 celery stalks, halved

Fresh ground pepper

Salt

1/2 lemon

1. In a large stock pot, combine chicken, onion, garlic, 3 carrots, dill and 2 celery stalks in a large pot. Fill with enough water to cover everything. Grind fresh pepper on top, cover and bring to a boil.

2. Once boiling, reduce heat to a low simmer. Let simmer for one hour. Taste the broth and salt to taste. Because there is already salt on the leftover chicken, it's good to wait and see how salty the broth is from the chicken. Otherwise, you may over salt.

3. Squeeze juice from lemon into broth. Continue to simmer for another hour. Taste and make any adjustments necessary (salt, pepper).

4. Using a slotted spoon, transfer all solids to a colander and reserve broth. Discard any vegetables or herbs. Separate meat from bone and return any meat to the broth.

5. While you are separating the chicken, let the broth stand on very low heat. The fat will separate from the broth and you can use a spoon to skim it off the top.

6. Slice remaining carrots and celery into discs and add to broth. Let simmer for about 20 minutes, until carrots and celery are soft. Serve and garnish with chopped dill.