Hungarian Cold Remedy - Chicken Soup (Csirkehúsleves)

Do you have a cold? Or feeling under the weather? Or just simply need a soul warming, hot meal? Here is the solution: cook a big pot of Hungarian Chicken Soup! With just a little effort (cutting the chicken and preparing the vegetables) in 2 hours a golden, nutritious soup is waiting for you at the table.

Ingredients (for about 6 servings)

1 whole (preferable free range) chicken, about 1.5 kg (3 lbs) cut into parts
about 2.5 liter (0.66 gallon) cold water
3-4 medium carrots
2-3 parsley roots
1 celery root
1 kohlrabi
3-4 cauliflower florets
some savoy cabbage leaves
1 tomato
1 green (hot) pepper
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 bunch of fresh parsley (plus more, chopped for serving)
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp black peppercorns
½ tsp paprika
300 grams (10 oz) vermicelli egg noodles (“cérnametélt” in Hungarian)

1. Place a large pot with about 2.5 liter cold water on medium heat and add the chicken pieces (legs, breast, wings legs and back – cut into half)
2. Let it cook on medium-low heat until some foam appears on the surface
3. Skim the foam off with a ladle or you can use a strainer too.
4. Continue to cook the soup on medium-low heat, uncovered
5. Meanwhile peel all the vegetables. I usually leave some skin on the onion – it gives a nice golden color to the soup.
6. Cut the carrots and parsley root in half, then halve them again lengthwise. (no need to halve the thinner ends). Cut the celery root in half and quarter the kohlrabi.
7. Put all the vegetables (carrots, parsley roots, kohlrabi, celery root, onion, garlic cloves, cauliflower florets, savoy cabbage leaves and a bunch of parsley) into the soup. For more flavor add one tomato and a green (hot) pepper too.
8. Season the soup with salt, black peppercorns and a little bit of paprika
9. Bring the soup to a boil then cook on low heat, uncovered for about 2 hours.
10. Meanwhile cook the vermicelli egg noodles (or other kind of soup pasta) in boiling salted water – according to the packet instruction. Then drain and rinse with cold water to prevent sticking. Put it into a bow and set aside.
11. After about 2 hours of cooking remove the pot from the heat. Discard the vegetables you're not going to eat (e.g.: savoy cabbage leaves, celery root, onion, tomato, green pepper, parsley)
12. Carefully remove the remaining vegetables which will be served with the soup
13. Remove the chicken pieces too and place them into a separate bowl.
14. Put a sieve over a pot and place a cheesecloth into it. Ladle the broth through it, then remove the sieve with the cheesecloth – now, you have a clean, golden soup, which is ready to serve.
15. Put some chicken meat, vegetables and noodles into a bowl and ladle some hot soup over it. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and season with freshly ground black pepper. (you can also add some dried hot chili to the soup – if you prefer.)
16. ENJOY!!

/The music is based on a Hungarian folk song, played and made by my husband, MrStick© 2019 - (all rights reserved)/