Chicken soup for hungry souls
Dear SOS: I’m trying to find the best recipe for Jewish- made chicken in the pot. Thank you.
S. Donin
Los Angeles
Dear S.: This Yemenite-style chicken is from Faye Levy’s book “1,000 Jewish Recipes” (John Wiley & Sons, 2000).
This is a whole-meal soup, and a variety of vegetables can be added depending on what’s available. We added green beans and corn for a colorful bowl of soup.
Chicken in the pot
Total time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Servings: 6
About 2 1/2-3 pounds chicken pieces, fat and skin removed
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
5 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 large onion, whole or sliced
6 carrots, cut into 2-inch lengths
4 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
About 2 quarts water
6 boiling potatoes
6 zucchini, halved and cut into 1-inch slices
1/2 pound green beans, cut into 2-inch lengths
Kernels from 1 ear corn, optional
1. Place the chicken in a large stew pan or pot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and the cumin and turmeric. Add the onion, carrots, garlic and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat, skimming the foam occasionally, 1 hour.
2. Peel the potatoes, if desired. Halve them (or quarter if large), add to the soup and simmer 10 minutes. Add the zucchini, green beans and corn, if using, and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook the soup over low heat until the vegetables are tender, 15 minutes. Skim off the fat. (If you’re making the soup ahead, refrigerate, then skim off the fat). Season generously with salt and pepper. Remove the onion if whole and then the chicken, discarding any remaining skin, and cut the meat from the bones. Discard the bones and return the meat to soup. Serve the soup in fairly shallow bowls with the chicken and vegetables.
Each serving: 425 calories; 218 mg. sodium; 143 mg cholesterol; 13 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 27 grams carbohydrates; 50 grams protein; 5.62 grams fiber.