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Phyllis's Chicken Soup

Golden broth, tender chicken that falls apart, and the perfect blend of seasonings and fresh vegetables make this the quintessential chicken soup recipe you'll turn to again and again.
Course Soup
Cuisine Jewish
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Servings 20 servings
Recipe Author Phyllis Baron

Ingredients

  • 6 quarts water
  • 2 tbsp. Kosher salt plus more for seasoning later on
  • 8 peppercorns
  • 1 large onion, peeled
  • 2 large Kosher chickens cut in quarters
  • 1 large can chicken broth (32 oz) or box of Manischewitz chicken broth
  • 8 carrots, peeled and cut into 4 pieces each
  • 6 stalks of celery, cut into 4 pieces each
  • 1 parsley root, peeled
  • 6-7 small parsnips, peeled
  • 1 soft tomato, with core removed
  • 1 bunch of fresh parsley plus kitchen twine to tie it up

Instructions

  1. Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil. When water boils, add a tbsp. of salt and 8 peppercorns. Add one large onion, peeled with 2 cuts in the onion and cook for 10 minutes.
  2. Add large College Inn chicken broth and put chicken (two large chickens, quarters) into pot and let cook for 10 minutes. Then add the carrots, celery, parsnips, parsley root (whole tube with greens on it, but peel the root), and the tomato with the core removed. Cook for 1 1/2 hours until the chicken is tender. NOTE: Remove the onion when it starts to fall apart.
  3. When the chicken is tender and soup is done, tie up a bunch of washed fresh parsley and let it sit on top of soup for an hour.

  4. Strain soup twice (important!) and discard all vegetables except carrots (slice carrots into smaller pieces).

  5. Taste soup and add more salt and pepper as needed. You will likely need to add salt. This recipe was written with very low amounts of salt added so be prepared to season it after it has finished cooking.

Recipe Notes

NOTE: It is often difficult to find parsley root, so don't worry if you can't locate it. The soup will be perfectly delicious if you make it without this ingredient.