Chicken Soup from the Heart

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs chicken pieces (combination ofnecks, thighs, and drumsticks, with skin)
• 3 large carrots, cut into thirds
• 2 celery ribs, cut into fifths
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1/2 bunch dill, wrapped tightly with any string (I use floss, works great, and never falls apart in the water)
• 1/2 cup instant chicken-style consomme soup and seasoning mix (by Osem, do not substitute)
• cheesecloth

Directions

1. 1

   Fill large soup pot with cold water.

2. 2

   Add cleaned chicken pieces, peeled, whole yellow onion, and dill.

3. 3

   Cook on stovetop on a high heat until water just starts to boil.

4. 4

   Reduce heat to simmer, but do not cover the pot.

5. 5

   The chicken will bring up it's brown foam, remove it as it comes up. You may add more preboiled water to the pot if the amount of water in the pot has been reduced to 3/4, but not more than once.

6. 6

   After 1.5 hours of simmering, raise the heat to medium and add the carrots and salt.

7. 7

   Slowly add 1/2 cup of Osem Consomme seasoning mix and stir through, to make sure that no seasoning mix is stuck to the bottom of the pot.

8. 8

   Reduce heat back to simmer and continue to simmer for an additional 30 minutes.

9. 9

   Add the celery and cook for 5-10 minutes more, until the celery is no longer firm, but not yet tender (it will continue to cook even when the heat is turned off).

10. 10

    Remove from heat, and cover pot. Let stand 15-20 minutes, until celery just tender.

11. 11

    Remove all chicken, carrots, onion, dill, and celery from soup and place in separate container.

12. 12

    Transfer soup from the pot through the cheesecloth to a different pot, or container of your choice. Do this slowly, as the soup is still hot, ensuring that all the soup pass through the cheesecloth before being transferred to another pot. You may need another couple of hands to help you hold the cheesecloth over the second pot. This is a crucial step of the recipe, because it ensures that your final product is a clear broth. Also, this is a way to trim the fat, and allows the palate to taste the chicken soup rather than the chicken fat.

13. 13

    Discard whatever is left on the cheesecloth.

14. 14

    Serve the broth clear with either a carrot and a celery, or, you may add fine noodles or a kreplach for a perfect Jewish Chicken Soup.

15. 15

    Enjoy!