Polish chicken soup
Rosół
- Place the meat in a big pot. Pour inside around 2 l of cold (!) water (it should cover the meat well). Put it on a medium heat. When it's about to boil lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Remove any foam that appears on the top. Simmer for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile roast the onion on a small frying pan until the skin looks slightly burnt. Don't peel the onion, just clean it, its skin will give a beautiful colour to the soup.
- Add all the vegetables and spices and simmer for… as long as you can :-) I usually simmer for another 1,5 hour, but the longer you simmer the tastier the soup will be. Don't worry if the vegetables are overcooked. (You can remove a carrot a bit before for decoration)
- Remove the meat and the vegetables. Throw the vegetables away. Remove skin and bones from the meat and cut it in small pieces, add the meat to the soup.
- Season the soup with salt.
- Cook the small pasta according to packet instructions.
- Serve with spoonfuls of pasta and chopped parsley or dill.
The secrets of the best chicken broth ever
- cooking time - don't rush, let the time work for the soup
- always use meat that has still bones attached
- simmer it on a lowest heat possible and try not to bring it to a full boil… slow cooking process will extract all the goodness from the vegetables and meat
Polish broth is a dish that requires a long cooking time, but actually you don't need a lot of time for preparations - clean the meat, peel the vegetables and your job is done! While the soup is simmering you do anything you want, read a book, watch your favorite series, spend time with your family. I can assure you, you will not regret the waiting period!
The taste of rosół is one of the most vivid memories of my childhood. When I was a small kid we would always gather on Sunday for lunch with all the family and when everybody was sat my mother would enter the room with a large pot full of boiling hot, bursting with flavours rosół. It was always a promising start of our meal… Nowadays rosół is still served in many Polish houses on Sundays. Some people almost worship it and believe that rosół is the best remedy for cold and stomach ache (and even for hangover :p)
Spoon's tip
You can freeze the chicken soup and use it as a stock for your other recipes, e.g. it can be a base for your soups. Believe me, it's much healthier and tastier than using stock cubes.