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Polish Chicken Noodle Soup

Source of Recipe

From "Gather At Home" by Monika Hibbs


Recipe Introduction

"I will always remember my mama having a warm meal ready for us when we got home from school. One of those meals was her Polish chicken noodle soup, or rosóÅ‚. My mama always made it when we felt ill, and sometimes she would have it ready when we got home from school. She also made it for special occasions like Christmas or Easter. RosóÅ‚ brings me comfort and is a meal I find nostalgic in every way. I remember the first time I wanted to make my mama's rosóÅ‚ for my kids. I had a sense of how to make it, but I needed to call my mom for the exact recipe. In that moment, everything came full circle. I realized it wasn't just my mama who made this soup. It was her mom before her, and earlier generations as well. Now, as I fully embrace motherhood, I have this recipe memorized. It's a taste of comfort I can pass on to my family—and that you can pass on to yours, too."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ One 3-pound whole free-range or organic chicken
â—¦ 2 chicken bouillon cubes or 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon paste
â—¦ 3 bay leaves
â—¦ 4 to 5 medium carrots, peeled and ends trimmed
â—¦ 3 to 4 stalks celery, ends trimmed
â—¦ 1 white onion, peeled and halved
â—¦ ¼ cup fresh parsley
â—¦ Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
â—¦ 1 package (16 ounces) fine egg noodles



Recipe

Rinse the chicken and place it in a medium stockpot or Dutch oven. Add the bouillon, bay leaves, carrot, celery, onion, parsley, and salt and pepper. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the chicken. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer until the chicken is fully cooked, about 1 ½ to 2 hours. If you have time, continue to let the soup simmer to bring out more flavor. My mom says the perfect flavor comes at 4 hours of cooking.

Remove the chicken from the pot, pull it apart, and let cool.
Remove the rest of the solids from the pot, leaving only the stock. Strain the stock using a fine-mesh sieve before returning it to the pot. Adjust the seasoning to taste. Once the vegetables are cool enough to touch, chop them and return to the stock. Remove the chicken from its carcass, cut into bite-size pieces, and return to the pot.

Cook the egg noodles in a separate pot according to the package instructions. Strain out most of the water and set the noodles aside. I like to keep the noodles in a little bit of the cooking water until I'm ready to serve the soup so they don't dry out and then absorb all of the broth.

When you're ready to serve the soup, place the desired amount of noodles in each bowl and ladle the soup over the noodles. Make sure to include some vegetables and chicken in each serving.

Store the soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days or in the freezer for up to three months.

Serves 6 to 8