Nanny's Chicken Soup

Every child has their quirks. Mine just happened to involve chicken soup. My grandma, affectionately called Nanny, made the world's best chicken soup. Others have come close. None have prevailed. And despite the fact that she lived in Florida for all but the last 7 years of my life, this is what I loved most about visiting her. Nanny's wonderful, beautifully simple, comforting chicken soup. It didn't matter if the weather was upwards of 95 degrees. Or if it was the middle of July. If I was going to visit Nanny, chicken soup is what I'd best be eating, all week long. And no skimpy bowl for me. I wanted a "shissel's" worth.

What I loved most, aside from her marvelous chicken soup, was that Nanny *tried* to roll with the punches. So what if her granddaughter's eyes were bigger than her stomach? So what if it was sweltering out as she devoured said soup? So what if she claimed she was now a vegetarian but still ate soup—sans chicken. (It was my kryptonite, ok?) Nanny didn't mind. As long as the bowls were brimming and bellies were full, she was a happy camper. (Eeer—wrong term. Camping was never her thing. Nor mine. NOW IT ALL MAKES SENSE!)

Nanny passed away this past May, at the ripe age of 95, three days shy of my 30th birthday. The last few years were particularly sad as I watched her slowly decline into someone else's grandmother. Alzheimer's disease painfully robbed her of her memories, stories, joy and and her wonderful, iconic recipes.

So it's probably very fitting that I recently began my meat-eating journey once again (you can read all about my adoration of bacon—my gateway meat—here), and that I am suddenly craving my Nanny's chicken soup. Though she not-so-secretly would have been very pleased that I've returned to the dark (meat) side, I know she would not have made a big deal or commotion of it, and instead, focused her efforts on carefully crafting the biggest bowl of chicken soup South Florida ever did see.

For 89 years, Nanny claimed there was "no secret" to her chicken soup recipe. Bullshit. There was magic in that stock pot! The world may never know what secrets were up her sleeve (next to the Kleenex) but this recipe is pretty close. If I close my eyes and slurp a big spoonful, it brings me back to her formica kitchen, yellow Pyrex bowls filled to the brim, Days of Our Lives softly playing in the background, and the chatter of her lively condominium neighbors coming and going in and out of her cozy apartment while I relished each and every bite.

Nanny, this bowl's for you <3

you'll need...

1 rotisserie chicken, de-boned and shredded

2 large carrots, peeled and diced on the diagonal

3 celery stalked, trimmed and cut into quarters

1 large onion, peeled and quartered

1 vegetable bouillon cube (you can use two and less salt after simmering)

8 cups of water

2 small parsnips, scrubbed and quartered

1 large handful of dill

salt and pepper to taste

to make...

Prep all your veggies so they're ready to go. Add 8 cups of water and the bouillon cube to a big pot or Dutch oven. (I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Caribbean Le Creuset. It is expensive, and we were lucky enough to receive it as a generous wedding gift, but if there's one pot worth investing in, this, or something similar, is it. Fairly certain it has a lifetime warranty as well. Be sure to pick a color that makes you smile :) Let the water come to a boil and add in all the veggies, including the dill. Return to a boil and let it simmer for at least an hour. While it boils, shred and de-bone the chicken. Once the soup smells so good you can't stand it, season to your liking with salt and pepper. Serves 4-6 depending on bowl size and appetite. Freezes well too.

Disclaimer: Nanny cooked her own chicken in the soup, and tenderly shredded it once cooked through. I'm not quite there yet on my new path to carnivore salvation. I have opted to buy a lovely, humanly-raised, pre-roasted rotisserie-style Murray's Chicken, which in this case, works just as well. You can also buy a package of soup greens if you grocery store has them available. It will contain almost everything you need to make a lovely chicken soup.

#soup #chicken #chickensoup #easy #dinner #makeahead #vegetables #freezerworthy #winter