A Deliciously Tasty Jewish Chicken Soup Recipe

Whether you serve it with Matzo balls, over pasta, or fresh bread, a classic and tasty Jewish chicken soup recipe is just what you need when your family feels under the weather. This is one of the soups you want to make a lot of because the leftovers are even better the next day or two.

What is the Difference between Jewish Chicken Soup and Others?

The biggest difference you can expect with this Jewish chicken soup recipe compared to other chicken soup recipes is how the chicken is prepared and the ingredients used in a Jewish chicken soup. This recipe does not mix milk and meat; the chicken must be kosher and prepared according to Jewish dietary guidelines.

Following Jewish dietary guidelines, the history of Jewish chicken soup began with families needing something that would be easy to eat when one or more family members were sick and needed a healing touch. This soup adopted a nickname known as “Jewish penicillin” because after serving this to sick families for a couple of meals, those who were ill would start feeling better quickly.

Nutritional Value

There is a reason that this Jewish chicken soup is popular, and that’s because of the benefit it provides to those who are feeling ill. Chicken fat is beneficial to thinning out mucus and helping with respiratory illnesses that develop early on. This can jumpstart the healing process you seek in the soup. Adding nutrient-dense broth and veggies to this soup only tacks on the required vitamins needed to restore an immune system and keep it healthy.

Gather Your Ingredients

This is a simple soup, but the ingredients you gather should be fully kosher so you can be ready to cook once you get home.

  • One kosher chicken, with removed insides
  • Ten to twelve cups of cold water
  • Three sliced carrots
  • Three chopped celery stalks
  • Two diced onions
  • Two chopped parsnips
  • Two chopped leeks
  • Two large potatoes diced
  • One tablespoon of fresh-cut dill weed
  • One tablespoon of fresh-cut parsley
  • One tablespoon of minced garlic
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

You can substitute a few things if you need to when purchasing your ingredients.

Substitutions

While you still need kosher, you can get kosher chicken that mixes dark and white meat. You can get all dark meat if you find a good deal on chicken thighs, but do not opt for only white meat chicken, or your soup will not have the right flavor components.

You can also choose to use dried herbs instead of fresh if that is what you have at home, or you cannot get fresh herbs. Dill and parsley build the flavor in this soup, so you need more than just salt and pepper in your chicken.

Also, the listed vegetables are not required, but they make the soup much more flavorful. If there are some on this list you do not like or maybe have never tried; you can easily omit them. The most important veggie is the onion because it helps tenderize the chicken when it cooks. Feel free to sub out some of the water with low-sodium chicken broth if you want a more seasoned flavor without going overboard.

It’s Soup Building Time

Now that you have your ingredients, it is time to start building your Jewish chicken soup to enjoy in a few hours.

1. Chop Your Onion and Herbs

One of the first things you need to do is get both of your onions chopped up and diced. You will need this ingredient first compared to the other veggies. If you opted for fresh herbs, you also need to chop them now as well.

2. Start Cooking Your Chicken

Add your washed chicken with skin and bones to your large soup pot to pot and fill it with about twelve cups of cold water. Please put it on the stove and turn the burner to medium-high heat.

At this stage, you need to add the diced onion you have and the parsley and dill weed you are using. You want to keep your chicken boiling steady before changing it to a simmer. When you do turn it down, cover the pot and let it cook for the next hour.

3. Prepare Your Veggies

While your chicken is cooking down over the next hour, you need to thoroughly wash your veggies with cold water and peel the root vegetables. Once they’re all peeled, dice up the parsnips, carrots, and potatoes into similar size pieces so that they will cook down evenly. You can chop the other veggies, put them all in a bowl, and put them back in the fridge until your chicken is ready.

4. Remove the Chicken

When the chicken has finished cooking, remove the bones, cartilage, and excess fat sitting at the top of the broth. Pull out all the chicken and shred it for bite-size. Once your broth is clear, add the cooked chicken back to the soup.

5. Bring it All Together

After you add the chicken back, it is time to add in the veggies, salt, and pepper. Add one or two cups to cover the veggies if you need additional water. Turn the burner up to medium heat and let it start boiling.

6. Simmer and Serve

Once the soup reaches a rolling boil with the veggies, it is time to move it back down to a simmer on your burner and then close the lid. You want it to cook for about 20 minutes, giving the veggies time to get tender and absorb the soup’s flavor.

When they are tender, turn your burner off and start ladling the soup into soup bowls for the family to enjoy. When your soup has cooled completely, add the leftovers to the fridge and reheat as you want it over the next three days. Each time you reheat this soup, it will taste better, You may have to add a little salt and pepper each time, but you will enjoy it until it is gone.

Pair With Salads and Sandwiches

This soup is a great option for lunch parties and gatherings where you want to pair soup and salad or soup and sandwich. Because it is packed with protein and veggies, it is great with a classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich or berry-feta salads with a bolder flavor.

If you want to enjoy just the soup, though, having some dinner rolls or sliced bread to pair with this soup is also another simple yet classic pairing that will allow you to enjoy the flavors of this soup down in your soul.

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