Jewish Penicillin Aka Chicken Soup Recipes

CHICKEN SOUP (((JEWISH PENICILLIN)))

Steps:

• Do not cut up the chicken.
• Place the whole chicken in a very large pot.
• Cover chicken with water.
• Place on high heat and bring to a boil.
• Cook for 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat& skim the scum off the top.
• Slice carrots across into pieces 1/4" thick and place into pot.
• Slice celery the same as the carrots and place into pot.
• Quarter onion and place into pot.
• Peel& quarter the sweet potatoes and place into pot.
• Cut up parsnips and place into pot.
• Place the soup greens, which are the tops of anise, into the pot.
• Discard the actual anise root.
• Place pot back on the burner on medium-low heat and simmer.
• Slightly season with salt, pepper and garlic to taste.
• Cover and continue to simmer until vegetables are tender and the chicken is done and almost falling off the bone.
• Remove the chicken from the pot and remove all of the chicken from the carcass.
• Discard the carcass and return the chicken pieces back to the pot.
• Taste to see if it is seasoned to your liking.
• If it's not, adjust with more salt, pepper and garlic as needed.
• Separately boil the pot stickers and then add them to the soup just before serving, or else you can make matzo balls as directed on the box of matzo ball mix, and then add the matzo balls to the soup just before serving.

JEWISH CHICKEN SOUP

Steps:

• Place the chicken into a large pot with the breast side down. Fill with enough cold water to reach about 3 inches from the top of the pot. Add the onion, carrot, parsnip, celery and dill. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and cook, partially covered for 2 hours. Do not let the soup boil. Skim any fat from the top of the soup, and add the garlic cloves. Partially cover, and simmer for another 2 hours for best flavor.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the matzo meal, eggs, oil, salt, and 1/4 cup of the broth from the chicken soup. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes to set up.
• Bring a separate pot of water to a rolling boil. Roll the matzo mixture into about 16 balls. Wet your hands to keep the dough from sticking to them. Drop the balls into boiling water, cover, and cook for about 35 minutes.
• While the matzo balls are cooking, strain the broth from the chicken soup. Return the broth to the pot. Remove the bones and skin from the chicken and cut into pieces. Return to the soup, or leave the soup as a broth, and reserve the chicken for other uses. Remove the matzo balls from the water, and serve in the hot chicken soup.

CHICKEN SOUP (AUNT MARY'S PENICILLIN)

Steps:

• In a large pot, place four quarts cold water. Add the chicken, garlic, onion, carrots, celery, parsley, bay leaf, salt and peppercorns and slowly bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for three hours, using a spoon to skim the soup as thoroughly as possible. Cool. (The soup can be strained at this point, to use as chicken broth. Mrs. Stacey proceeds with the next two steps.)
• Strain the soup. Discard the onion, parsley, bay leaf and peppercorn, and save the other vegetables. Skin and debone the chicken and save the meat. Return the chicken meat, carrots, celery and garlic clove to the pot and bring back to a simmer, seasoning with additional salt or pepper to taste.
• Serve the soup in big bowls, over pastina, rice or very thin spaghettini. The soup's curative powers are released only when the vegetables are mashed together in the bowl. Use a fork for mashing. Use a big spoon for eating.

JEWISH PENICILLIN (AKA: CHICKEN SOUP)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375º.
• Place a vertical roaster in an 8¼" x 8¼" x 2½" square glass baking dish.
• Clean the chicken "innards" and place in a 1-quart pot with 2 cups water, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce, 1 tablespoon Teriyaki Sauce, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon ground pepper. Cover and cook on lowest possible flame for 1 hour.
• Place chicken on vertical roaster.
• In the glass baking dish, pour 1 cup water and the remaining Worcestershire and Teriyaki.
• Cook until wings are VERY dark, but not burned (about 40 minutes); basting every 7 - 10 minutes.
• In an 8-quart pot, place remaining water, salt, pepper, celery, carrots, onion, garlic and shallot and set on high heat.
• When chicken is done, set aside to cool.
• When the innards are done, add the broth to the main pot. If you like innards, enjoy them; if not, discard them (or send them to me).
• When chicken is cool enough to work with, remove the skin and set aside.
• Remove all the meat from the bone, and cut into bite-sized pieces.
• Set the bones aside.
• Add chicken to the "broth", and reduce to medium-low heat.
• Wrap the skin and bones in cheesecloth, tying the cheesecloth as you would a tourniquet; basically bring all four corners together and tie.
• Place skin and bones in broth and simmer for 3 hours, keeping an eye on the level in the pot. Add water as needed.
• Remove skin and bone cheesecloth and discard (cheesecloth can be washed and reused if desired).
• If you want to use Homemade Chicken Broth in the future, save what you don't use, chill and skim. Alton Brown would be proud.
• This is not Campbell's soup, but then Mr. Campbell didn't grow up with a Jewish grandmother.
• I do hope you enjoy it. Please do me the honor of rating it.