1 3-lb. chicken, whole, innards removed, cut up into pieces
1 lb. boneless chicken meat, thighs or breast
3 carrots
3 ribs celery
1 medium parsnip
1 onion
Handful peppercorns
Pinch saffron
1 bay leaf
1 can (approx. 2 cups) “store-boughten” chicken broth – I use College Inn
Kosher salt
Ground pepper
Approx 3/4 c.egg noodles or smallish pasta (stars, orzo, etc.) or rice – goal is to make approx. 1 1/2 cups, cooked
Handful (maybe 2 tablespoons) tarragon, rinsed and chopped, or dill if you’re a traditionalist
Make a stock by placing the cut-up whole chicken on a stock pot with 2 roughly cut-up carrots, 1 rib celery, 1 quartered onion, 1 bay leaf, a handful of peppercorns, and a pinch of saffron, and adding water to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer for awhile, maybe an hour and a half. The mixture can be mostly ignored – I use this time to run listing searches for clients – but just check midway and add a cup or two of water if too much is boiling off. Meanwhile, make the pasta or rice in a separate pot in boiling water – cook it just to al dente, since it will cook more in the soup later – and drain.
Then, take the stock off heat. Discard everything that you can catch with a spider skimmer into a separate large mixing bowl – after this melange cools, you can pick the chicken off the bones for use in another meal. You should have maybe a quart and a half of stock left, which you can strain through a food mill or cheesecloth, or simply skim the fattiest part of the scum off the top. (If you have time, you can chill the stock for more effective skimming). Put the stock back in the pot, and add in 1 lb. chopped boneless chicken, 1 parsnip cut into quarters the long way, and then chopped, 1 carrot ditto, 2 ribs celery ditto, approx. 2 cups store-boughten chicken broth (for the salt), and a couple of tablespoons chopped tarragon or dill. Boil for fifteen minutes. Skim, add cooked pasta or rice, adjust level of salt and pepper to taste.
Serve, with high hopes for a future condo closing.