"Okay, who's sick?" or, the best chicken soup you'll ever have someone make for you.

[The following is copied from Andy's personal cooking notebook, with credit and apologies to the authors of The New Basics Cookbook, which originally inspired this soup for us many years ago. Whatever you do, don't omit the fresh dill here. Trust me.]

Chicken Soup

1 whole chicken (about 4 lbs)
2 onions, halved
4 celery ribs, with leaves
4 carrots, peeled
3 parsnips, peeled
4 whole cloves
3 cloves of garlic
6 sprigs of fresh dill + 1/4 c fresh dill, chopped
6 sprigs of fresh parsley + 2 tablepoons fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3 quarts water
2 chicken boullion cubes
8 oz medium-sized shell pasta
1 1/2 c frozen baby peas, thawed

"Rinse the chicken well and place it in a big soup pot. Throw the onions, celery, carrots, parsnips, garlic, cloves, sprigs of dill and parsley, salt, and pepper in. Add the water and bring this stuff to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 2 hours. Every once in a while, skim the foam off the top. Remove the chicken from the soup and let it cool off a little bit. Remove the skin and bones (not as gross as you might think -- I wear insulated rubber gloves which I scrub before and after use) and then pull the meat apart, shredding it. Set this aside in a bowl. Strain the soup, getting rid of the veggies. Return the liquid to the pot and add a boullion cube. Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes. This will intensify the flavor. At this same time, start some water boiling for the noodles. Throw a boullion cube into the pasta water to cook that flavor into the pasta. Cook only as much pasta as you will eat at this meal (leaving the pasta in soup that will be reheated overcooks the pasta and grosses Alicia out). When the pasta is cooked, divide it into individual bowls. Reduce the boiling soup to a gentle roll and add the peas, shredded chicken, chopped dill, and chopped parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste. When this stuff is all heated through, pour it over the pasta into the bowls. Good with Airborne and pulp-free orange juice as beverages."

[Worked for me. I feel great today. THANK YOU HONEY!]

Comments

[mary]

Hi,
I ear rubber gloves when I handle the fresh chicken and then scrub them clean... may HAVE to try them during shredding part also! Say good for forming meatloaf also!
And I have some parsnips in the fridge!
Thank you!

With Kindness,
Mary

[Gail VanWagoner]

I made your soup last night since I had a sick boy at home who needed some TLC. The kids all loved it. I added a squeeze of lemon to my bowl which really took it up a notch. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

[Trixie]

I think I will have to make this soup this weekend just as preventive medicine. Please tell me though that there's something about the Y chromosome that makes it better, though. Wish I had an Andy.

[Trixie]

OK, since I was last to post I will update you -- I'm making the soup right now and this is the MOST heavenly scent that has ever come from my kitchen! I have about an hour to go before I take the chicken out to shred. Meanwhile, just the aroma has had curative powers. Bless you! I was going to ask you to clone an Andy for me, but right now just the recipe has been a good substitute. :)

[Mai]

Thank you for this recipe. I tried it and everyone loved it!

[Chicken soup lover]

Chicken soup is the organic healing pill when you have cold,nice recipe and nice layout design.