Chunky Chicken Minestrone Soup

While making a minestrone soup for my family in the winter, I was inspired to try to replicate it for Pesach. The taste was amazing. Freezes well too. The trick to this soup, and almost any soup, is “low and slow” — sautéing the vegetables and cooking the soup on a low flame for a long time.

Directions

1. In a six to eight quart pot, heat a small amount of oil. Add onion and sauté for a few minutes. Add garlic, celery, and carrots and continue sautéing on a low flame until celery looks wilted. If you have the time, do this for half an hour.

2. Add chicken bones (see note) or meat bones, chicken cutlets, kohlrabi, and water to cover. Bring to a boil and remove the scum as it rises to the top of the soup. Add the rest of the vegetables, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Let cook for two to three hours.

3. Add the parsley and dill and cook 10 minutes longer. Add the kosher l’Pesach noodles, if using, and remove from heat. (If you are freezing the soup, add noodles when warming up.) Leave pot covered a few minutes. Discard chicken or meat bones and bay leaf. Remove chicken cutlets from pot, shred with a fork and return to pot. Mix together before serving. If using blintz leaves, slice them into thin strips and garnish each individual serving with it. Don’t add to pot.

Tips:

If you have leftover roast, cut into tiny cubes and add to the soup when reheating. Divine!

Notes:

If using chicken bones, I recommend placing them in a large white cloth and tying it together before placing in the soup. This will preclude the need to fish out the little bones and pieces of grizzle that fall off into the soup. The flavor will permeate the soup anyway. You can remove the little pieces of chicken on the bones and add them to the soup when serving.