chicken soup with no chicken powder

abaker

Wed, Dec 18 2013, 12:15 pm

I'd like to make matzah ball soup without using the parve chicken powder or anything similar...I just want a good tasting flavorful soup without the MSG and artificial ingredients...I've tried using onion powder and garlic powder...but the soup tastes so bland.

what do you put in your matzah ball soup (list all veggies/spices and all tips you may have to improve flavor)

thank you!

mummiedearest

Wed, Dec 18 2013, 12:18 pm

I use:

2-3 scallions or 1 onion
1/2 a head of garlic (yup, half of that whole thing. multiple cloves)
2 lbs carrots (we like carrots, and it adds a nice sweet flavor)
1 whole chicken
1-2 zucchini (sometimes)
a bell pepper (sometimes)
salt
black pepper
a tiny bit of paprika
dried dill
water

I like to cook it a long time to get a strong carrot flavor. you don't have to cook it long, though, it's still good.

mummiedearest

Wed, Dec 18 2013, 12:19 pm

oh, I forgot to mention celery. you can use it, but I very rarely do. no one eats it here. I serve the veggies and chicken with the soup, so I only add what people will eat.

m in Israel

Wed, Dec 18 2013, 12:20 pm

I make delicious chicken soup without mix. The real key is to put in a decent amount of chicken or bones, and to cook it a VERY LONG TIME. I cook mine at least 4 hours and usually closer to 8 -- I put it up early Friday morning and let it simmer all day until the Friday night meal.

My "recipe":

A bunch of chicken wings, necks and bones
2 -- 3 carrots
1 sweet potato
1 zuchini
2 stalks celery
1 -- 2 large onions
1 package fresh mushrooms
black pepper
garlic (I use the frozen cubes, but if I don't have I will use garlic powder)
paprika

Cover with water and simmer a long time.

JoyInTheMorning

Wed, Dec 18 2013, 12:23 pm

I grew up eating my mother's chicken soup made with the Osem soup cubes. Yuck. I had to change the recipe because MSG made me sick. Like me, you'll find that once you add real food and seasonings, your chicken soup will taste so much better.

My recipe for chicken soup:

1 large onion
8 peppercorns
2 -3 cloves garlic
3-4 parsnips
5-6 carrots
3-4 stalks celery
1 Tablespoon coarse salt (or to taste)
2-3 pounds of chicken parts (on the bone; don't just use skinless boneless chicken breasts)
chicken necks of other giblets, whatever you have on hand
enough water to fill your 6-8 quart pot.

Put all ingredients in pot, cover, heat until just at boiling, making sure you skim off the scum that gathers. Reduce heat and simmer for a few hours. You can add fresh dill for the last half hour of cooking if you want.

Of course, this is pricier than relying on Osem for the flavor, but it is so much better, and so much better for you!

JoyInTheMorning

Wed, Dec 18 2013, 12:26 pm

I just realized you were asking for a pareve soup. If you don't put in chicken, you'll need to add more onions and celery, and as posters above said, you should also add other vegetables, like sweet potatoes and mushrooms, for flavor, I personally don't like the taste that comes from adding squash, but that's just me.

Also, slicing and sauteing the onions in a bit of oil before adding the water will add to the depth of the flavor.

m in Israel

Wed, Dec 18 2013, 12:49 pm

JoyInTheMorning wrote:

I thought OP was saying "without the parve mix" -- not that she wanted a parve soup. Her title says she is looking for "chicken soup".

abaker

Wed, Dec 18 2013, 4:02 pm

so the key to yummy soup is adding lots of chicken bones/chicken....that might be my problem...I tend to only use a piece or two of chicken. thanks for posting your recipes & helping out my chicken matzah ball soup!

now if only I could save the pot of soup I made last night....any ideas? it's very bland. I used carrots, 2 pieces chicken, garlic/onion powder/salt/pepper and added matzah balls I made. (I usually put in lots of garlic and onion and other veggies but I haven't gotten to the store yet this week) any suggestions on what I can add to it to improve the flavor?

tsiggelle

Wed, Dec 18 2013, 6:15 pm

abaker wrote:

Chicken bones, and chicken necks. Add plenty parsley, celery, onions. Add carrots and zucchini (for eating, not davka for the taste of the soup). A few garlic teeth, (whole) . Bring to a boil and cook on small flame for two hours.

Don't put potatoes in the soup unless you absolutely need to have them.

MamaBear

Wed, Dec 18 2013, 6:40 pm

To get a strong taste you need a lot more chicken/bones than you think and you need to cook it all day. If you don't mind making a small amount, do it all in a crock pot overnight. Sometimes I do this for shabbos lunch actually instead of chulent

Cookies n Cream

Wed, Dec 18 2013, 6:44 pm

abaker wrote:

Recook it for a few hours. Do you have flanken in the house? A piece or two will add flavor.

bubbebia

Wed, Dec 18 2013, 7:27 pm

I've never used "chicken" powder to make soup and can't understand the use of it.

To make my soup:

1-2 chicken legs, trimmed of all the fat and extra skin
1/2 carrot per person
2 onions
1 rib celery cut in half
1 parsnip peeled and cut in several chunks
2 cloves garlic
6-8 whole peppercorns
palmful of kosher salt
(optional additions: 1 zucchini cut in large chunks and 1 small sweet potato cut into large chunks)

Put everything in a 6-8 qt soup pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Skim the foam that accumulates until nothing more really comes up. Lower the heat so that the soup is just simmering. Cover the pot (checking periodically that the soup is still simmering). Let simmer minimum 4 hours but will be even better the longer you cook it. My grandmother used to cook the kneidlach in the soup so they absorbed the richness of the soup.

bamamama

Wed, Dec 18 2013, 7:27 pm

Rescuing your bland soup:Saute 2 onions until soft and light brown. Add to soup. This provides all the flavour you need.

When making your next soup, roast the chicken or bones first. I collect the bones from Friday night's chicken and freeze them for the next time I make stock. When I make stock from scratch, I start by sauteeing onions, add the bones from the freezer and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2-3 hrs or longer - lid off. Then I strain the bones and onions out of the soup and either package up the broth for other use or I add other veg at that point - whatever your family likes. I typically add carrots and celery. Zucchini in the summer. Carrots offer maximum flavour when just cooked - so don't cook longer than 20-30 min at this point depending on how large your veg pieces are.

Bella:D

Wed, Dec 18 2013, 7:56 pm

I dont know if anyone said this yet but I put in a bay leaf and about 5 peppercorns in addition to my regular chicken bones and vegetables (sometimes just carrots and onion, sometimes add zucchini, sweet potato, butternut squash...).
I think the real trick is not to put too much water in relation to the chicken.

naomi6

Wed, Dec 18 2013, 8:34 pm

Add some brown meat flanken neck bones etc. then u can use it in the cholent gives the soup a strong taste. Also put parsley and dill in a garnet bag the last hour

greenfire

Wed, Dec 18 2013, 8:59 pm

I'm with bubbebia ...

using the entire fresh chicken - skinned to reduce fat
I cut the bones off the white pieces but leave the drumstick & thighs with bones
onion
carrots
celery
parsnip
parsley
garlic cloves

black pepper/salt/garlic powder

cook well

use some of the broth in a different pot to make the matzoh balls

then we eat the chicken with the veggies along with the hearty soup ... it's a meal & nothing goes to waste

Last edited by greenfire on Thu, Dec 19 2013, 12:13 am; edited 1 time in total

zaq

Wed, Dec 18 2013, 9:02 pm

Bella:D wrote:

I think the real trick is not to put too much water in relation to the chicken.

You got it in one.
The only way to make a good chicken soup is to use lots of chicken.
It doesn't have to be $8.99/lb boneless chicken breasts--wings, necks, skin, pupicks, drumsticks, bones are all good and might even be better than boneless white meat. (I wouldn't know, having never been so profligate as to make soup out of $8.99/lb cutlets.) But it has to be a generous proportion, otherwise what you have is chicken-scented water, not soup. You know it's good when it jells in the fridge.

DREAMING

Wed, Dec 18 2013, 9:41 pm

3lbs chicken bones (I like to use about 1lb. bone in chicken and 2lbs. bones)
2 large loose carrots
1/2 sml celery knob
1 sml. parsnip
1 sml. parsley root

1 T salt

place everything in pot. Add 12 Cups Water. Let it boil. Skim the foam that accumulates and then lower flame, cook 1 1/2 hours.

fool proof - just remember the more chicken and bones the better the soup!.