Brodo di Pollo

Since the weather is still cold, we’ve been having a very busy schedule, and we’re still trying to eat healthy, I decided to delve back into The Italian Cookbook for a good soup recipe we could eat for several days. When I found this recipe, I had no idea what I was in for! Even though it’s just one soup recipe, there are three separate recipes that we need to follow in order to create the deliciousness. Here’s the first component.

Brodo di Pollo/Chicken Broth

Normally, of course, if you’re strapped for time, you can just make chicken broth by dissolving chicken bouillon cubes or powder in hot water. But, if you want to make it the old-fashioned way (the way my Mom and Grandma do when they make home-made chicken soup), there’s quite a process involved. Confession time: I normally dislike home-made chicken soup because it feels terribly under-flavored to me (my family doesn’t use much salt or many spices). Needless to say, I was very nervous about this. However, it turned out for the best, so yay!

4-5 lb. stewing chicken

1 ¼ qts. hot water

2 tsp salt

1 tsp MSG

5 3-in. pieces celery with leaves

3 small carrots

2 medium-sized onions

1 large tomato

Clean, disjoint, and cut chicken into pieces. Rinse giblets in cold water. Set liver aside in refrigerator.

Clean and appropriately chop all vegetables. Although recipes seem never to say this (and my family doesn’t do it), I decided to cook my onions separately in some oil first to give them a bit more flavor – I think it greatly improved the depth of flavor in the broth. Place chicken, giblets, neck, vegetables, water, and seasonings in a large pot. Cover and bring to boiling. Remove foam from surface. Cover tightly and simmer 2 to 3 hours. During last 15 minutes, add liver to broth. Make sure chicken is cooked through and fork tender before turning off heat.

Remove chicken, giblets, and neck from broth, cool, remove skin, and chop finely.

Strain broth to remove vegetables. Remove fat that rises to surface.

Okay, so that’s the chicken broth, but there are two more steps before we actually wind up with soup. Stay tuned for the other steps on Wednesday and Friday this week so we can make Little Hat Soup!

Have a question or a request? Put it in the comments below and I’ll be sure to respond. Fröhe essen!