Warm yourself with the flavors of this old-fashioned chicken soup made from fresh vegetables, prepared with love and chicken legs. This is no ordinary soup; it's a journey back to my grandmother's kitchen, where the smell of homemade soup filled the whole house.
Prep Time 10 minutesmins
Cook Time 10 minutesmins
Simmer time 2 hourshrs
Total Time 2 hourshrs20 minutesmins
Course Dinner, Lunch, Soup
Cuisine Dutch
Servings 8bowls
Calories 147kcal
Ingredients
1 ½pound chicken legs
2onionspeeled, quartered
2leekscleaned, top and bottom parts removed, cut into pieces
2carrotscleaned and sliced
2stalks celerycleaned and cut into slices
2cloves garlicdeskinned
10sprigs Fresh Parsley
15black peppercorns
3bay leaves
2teaspoons dried thyme
1mace
1teaspoonbasil
7cupswater
¼cups vermicelli noodles
20sprigs celeryleaves only, finely chopped
20sprigs parsleyleaves only, finely chopped
salt and pepperat taste
Ingredients you need per step are listed below the step in Italic
Instructions
Place the chicken legs in a large stockpot.
1 ½ pound chicken legs
Add the onions, leek, carrot, peppercorns, parsley, garlic, celery and thyme. Now add the bay leaf, thyme, basil, and mace.
Bring the water to the boil (without a lid) and reduce the heat to as low as possible (a simmer plate works very well here). Simmer gently for 2 hours. If the water level becomes too low, add some water.
Remove the chicken legs from the stock.
Remove the skin from the chicken legs and take the meat from the legs. Slice into small pieces. Set aside for a moment.
Place a sieve over a clean pan or bowl (a conical or coarse sieve is fine) and pour the stock through the sieve. You can throw away the vegetables and herbs left in the sieve.
Measure the stock and fill until you've reached 7 cups of broth with water.
Heat the stock until it is nice and hot. Put the chicken meat and vermicelli noodles in the pan.
¼ cups vermicelli noodles
Bring the soup to a boil and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes so the vermicelli cooks.
Stir the parsley and celery into the soup and season with salt and pepper.
20 sprigs celery, 20 sprigs parsley, salt and pepper
Serve immediately.
NOTES
1. Fat: If fat appears on the chicken stock, remove it with a slotted spoon or let the soup cool. The fat floats to the top and forms a layer that you can easily skim off with a spoon.2. Vegetables: If you want extra vegetables, add small cubes of celery, carrot, and finely chopped leek when adding the vermicelli to the soup. Then, let it simmer gently for 15 minutes.3. Seasoning: Season this soup with salt and pepper in the last step. A good soup has a salty taste. As a guideline, you can use approximately one teaspoon of salt per 2 ¼ cup of stock, in this case, around three teaspoons.4. Delicious: My grandmother served this soup with homemade puff pastry cheese sticks, a baguette, and garlic butter. I can recommend that!5. Storage
Refrigerator: Allow the chicken soup to cool quickly and store it covered in the fridge for up to two days.
Freezer: Let the soup cool quickly and pour into a freezer container. Leave enough space on top because the soup will expand when frozen. The chicken soup can be kept for up to three months this way. Let thaw in the refrigerator.
Reheat: Heat the chicken soup over medium heat until warm (but not boiling).