No doubt, most of you have made a chicken soup before and probably have your own favourite recipe. But, if you fancy trying something different, this is an amazing recipe that I think you may like. My Balkan-style chicken soup is rich and full of flavours, and has a gorgeous golden colour.

HISTORY OF CHICKEN SOUP.

Chicken soup has been man’s favourite food for more than 10 millennia since the domestication of the chicken. It’s an affordable and delicious comfort dish.

Some speculate that chicken soup, and more specifically chicken broth, originated in China. However, there is not enough proof for that.

In 12th century, the Jewish physician Maimonides started a trend of using chicken soup as medicine. In his book, On the Cause of Symptom, he recommended the nourishing broth for balancing the body and against leprosy and asthma. Twenty years ago, scientists in the US performed tests in search of proof that the soup has anti-inflammatory properties, but the results were inconclusive. Even so, for me, a pipping-hot fragrant chicken soup will always be the best homemade remedy!

HOW TO MAKE DELICIOUS CHICKEN SOUP?

📋 INGREDIENTS IN MY CHICKEN SOUP

There are many good recipes for chicken soup, but for me, this recipe is special because I inherited from my granny. It’s an authentic Bulgarian soup. Below are all the ingredients that you will need to make it:

Chicken meat: For the best result, make chicken soup with corn-fed or free-range chicken. I normally buy a whole large free-range chicken and I use the breasts for the soup and the carcass for making stock. With the rest of the meat, you can even produce another meal. This works well for a small family, like ours.

Chicken stock: Source good quality chicken stock or, even better, make the stock yourself. See instructions on how to make the stock further down.

Root vegetables: You will need onion, carrots, celery and optionally potatoes. They all add to the texture of the chicken soup.

Other vegetables: Use fresh chopped tomatoes instead of tomato puree. Fresh tomatoes tend to tint the stock less. This recipe calls for yellow sweet pepper. You can use bell peppers. They will contribute to the beautiful bright colours in the soup and add a pleasant texture to the soup. I also add one red chilli to the soup to brighten it and add a lovely heat.

Pasta or rice: This soup can be made with soup pasta or rice. They create a lovely texture. Although I prefer it with pasta, you can choose what to use for yourself. The most popular Balkan soup pasta is called fide and is believed to originate in Turkey. It’s really fine and has a bright yellow colour. Greek Orzo pasta can also be used in this recipe.

Butter: Adding butter to the soup will lift the colour and flavours even more, but using olive oil instead is a healthier option.

Parsley: Even though this recipe calls for parsley root if you are unable to find parsley root, substitute it with finely chopped stalks of parsley. Parsley adds beautiful fresh and earthy flavours to the soup. Do not substitute parsley root with fresh parsley leaves because they become mushy when boiled.

Savoury spice: If you have read my blog, you will know that savoury is one of my favourite spices for cooking. It works really well in this chicken soup too.

Thickening mixture: In the Balkans, we often use yoghurt and egg yolk to thicken soups. This mixture has several purposes. It makes the soup thicker, improves the texture and adds even more flavour and nutrition.

📖 STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

To prepare the soup you will need to first make the chicken stock. The easiest way to do that is with a multifunction cooker. It will take you only 20-30 minutes to do that compared to making it in a stockpot on the hob which takes at least 1 hour.

You can use chicken stock that you have prepared earlier and stored in the freeze. Defrost and bring the stock down to room temperature before use.

Step 1: MAKE the chicken stock

Cut the meat into portions – put aside the breasts and the legs. Separate the carcass and the backbone.

HOW TO MAKE THE STOCK ON THE HOB?

Place the backbone, carcass and wings in a multifunction cooker. Chop roughly two celery stalks, two large carrots and one large onion. Add the vegetables, 5-6 whole black pepper seeds and 1-2 bay leaves to the cooker.

I don’t use salt in the stock. Mostly, because I do not like too much salt in my food. You can add a teaspoon of salt now, but when you are making the soup don’t use any. When the soup is read taste it and if required add salt to your taste.

Fill the multifunction cooker with water. Some cookers have a pre-set button for cooking Soup. That’s the setting I use on my multifunction cooker to make chicken stock. Alternatively, you can cook the stock in a pressure cooker for 30 minutes.

HOW TO MAKE THE STOCK ON THE HOB?

If you do not own a multifunction or pressure cooker, you can make the stock in a large stockpot on the hob. Place all ingredients for the chicken stock in the stockpot and bring the water to the boil. Reduce the heat to simmer and boil the stock for 1 hours. Collect the scum forming on the surface with a large spoon.

Freeze leftover stock and use it whenever you need it.

Step 2: Prepare the chicken breasts

Cut the chicken breast into medium-sized pieces and sprinkle a little bit of salt and black pepper over the meat.

Heat olive oil in a pan and seal the meat for 2-3 minutes. That will add more flavour to the soup.

Leave the pan with the oil aside as you will need it later.

Place the chicken pieces in a deep pot with a lid. Pour the chicken stock and bring it to the boil. Then, reduce the heat and leave the chicken stock to simmer with the meat inside.

Step 3: PREPARE the vegetables

Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables. Peel the carrots, potatoes and onions. Dice the onions. Cut the potatoes and the carrots into medium-sized cubes. Wash the peppers and the tomatoes, and cut them into small cubes.

Step 4: cook the Chicken soup

Heat the oil used for browning the chicken meat earlier. Sauté the chopped onion until soft, and add the cubed carrots and peppers to the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir from time to time.

Add the cubed potatoes and tomatoes and sauté for 2-3 minutes, then transfer the par-cooked vegetables to the pot with the soup.

Step 5: AdD soup pasta or rice

Soup pasta is delicate and cooks quickly. For that reason, you must add it to the soup toward the end of its cooking.

Let the soup simmer for 10 more minutes with the vegetables, then add the pasta.

Cook until the pasta is ready. That will take no longer than 5 minutes.

If you are using rice instead of pasta, wash it well first. Naturally, rice needs to cook longer than soup pasta. Follow the instructions on the packaging.

Step 6: thicken the soup

You will need one egg yolk and a few tablespoons of yoghurt. Take the yoghurt and the egg out of the fridge for at least 20 minutes before cooking with them to get to room temperature.

Make the thickening mixture by whisking the egg yolk with the yoghurt in a small bowl. Add a few spoonfuls of stock and stir to raise the temperature of the thickening mixture before adding it to the soup. This will prevent the yoghurt and the yolk from curdling.

Remove the soup from the hob and pour the thickening mixture inside. Stir the soup vigorously to integrate the thickening mixture. Then, return the soup to the hob and simmer for a few more minutes.

🍲 SERVE ThIS DELICIOUS Chicken Soup

Always serve this chicken soup piping hot! To complete the authentic taste, garnish the soup with a splash of lemon, finely chopped parsley leaves and freshly cracked black pepper.

Enjoy! 👨‍🍳👨‍🍳👨‍🍳

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Featured Authentic Balkan-Style SOUPS

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