Chicken Soup

Today we had homemade chicken soup for lunch.  Always good on a cold winter day.
Chicken soup with pastine, (little star shaped pasta).

Chicken soup is no big deal.  If you can boil water, you can make soup.  We're not talking Food Network here.  Keep it simple. 

Put a whole chicken or some equivalent chicken parts in a large pot with enough water for the chick to swim in.  Add good spoon of salt.  As the pot comes to a boil, the chicken scum (coagulated protein) will accumulate on the surface of the water.  Skim it off or else the soup will be cloudy.  

Then add a good helping each of carrots, onions and celery.  Parsley is very nice.  Let the whole thing boil/simmer until the chicken is cooked enough to fall off the bone with a little help.  Remove the chicken/parts and de-bone.  Return the meat to the pot.  

I like to add escarole and let that cook a little in the soup.  Taste and add salt if needed.  

Serve with separately cooked rice, pasta or noodles added to the soup.