I love chicken broth or boiled chicken because it brings back memories from my childhood. You know the days when you are young and your mum or carer does all of your meals? I have memories when I was young and my grandmother would make a soup just from rice, lemon juice, chicken broth and parsley for me. My mom also learned to make this delicious peasant soup. Later I made it for my boyfriend when he was sick and down the line for my children. There are so many delicious recipes you can create with some basic chicken broth! Or stock may I say.
And if you don't feel like being adventurous than just make a meal of it as I have done tonight!
Chicken broth or boiled chicken is one of the easiest dishes you could ever learn to make! Chicken broth or bone broth or stock is the main starting point for creating many traditional dishes enjoyed for many centuries by many cultures.
Chicken broth is basically boiled chicken carcasses with vegetables with some seasoning. If you have a whole chicken you could use this also to make your broth and also create a meal in its own right all in one pot! And in addition to that you could also create many more dishes with the broth itself!
You can find the detailed recipe for the chicken broth in the recipe section.
If you are using a whole chicken pop it in a pot top up with some filtered cold water. Slowly bring to a boil. Skim and then add vegetables. The basic vegetables I will use are onions, celery, garlic, carrots, leeks and parsley stalks. I would also like to add some bay leaf, thyme and black peppercorns. I sometimes add whole cloves and season it with unrefined salt if making a meal of it. At this point after simmering for about 1 1/2 hours (depending on the size of the bird) The pot will be ready for additional vegetables so you can serve it as a meal.
I may add savoy cabbage, squash or perhaps some courgettes. Once the additional vegetables are cooked through the broth will be ready to be served.
Nutritionally there are many factors that are healing to the gut in a chicken broth that is made well! When you cook a chicken or the carcass and you simmer it well with some water you will extract many nutrients that may benefit your joints and gut membranes. These are nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, glutamine, glucosamine, hyaluronic acid, collagen and amino acids to name a few. Also it is worth mentioning that when you cook the carcasses for a long time you are extracting most of the vitamins and minerals in to the broth that you normally would not have accessed if you just threw them away! I use a little apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to help chelate the minerals out of the bones further.
Those mentioned nutrients are great for gut repair, joint healing and generally nourishing the body. The flavour brings back memories from childhood and ancient memories not to mention ancient wisdom as this food has been handed down from generation to generation.
This broth is healing not only for the gut but for the mind and soul also! It is relaxing and calming even for the most hyperactive mind! The flavour of well a seasoned broth can stop any busy mind on it's track and appreciate to take time out and be mindful as they sip the flavours of this delicious herby concoction!
Chicken broth is also alkalizing for the body. The mineral-rich liquid nourishes the body and brings it back to a more balanced state.
I think these qualities of chicken broth and other well-prepared broths are the reason I go through the trouble and make it a regular feature of cooking for my family.
If you have the carcass from the chicken that you have cooked for the family roast you can prepare this as I have mentioned above. If it is roast chicken make sure you deglaze the pan with some water to help remove all of the sediment that has collected on the base of the pan to add to the broth also. This will give further debt of flavour and colour to the dish.