Nikokos Chicken Soup

Ingredients for 3 servings:

• 2 onions, not too small
• ½ fresh chicken (approx. 1.5 kg)
• n. B. beef, possibly
• ½ celery root
• ½ kg carrot(s)
• 1 bunch of herbs (parsley, chives and possibly lovage
• 1 piece(s) of ginger (about thumb-sized)
• 250 g sweet bell pepper(s) (e.g. mini peppers – Corno di Toro)
• 250 g parsley root(s)
• 1 red chili pepper(s)
• salt and pepper
• e.g. noodles (soup noodles)
• salt water
• 2 liters of water

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 30 minutes

Chicken soup with the – it tastes good even without Maggi – flavor

Halve the onions and sauté them cut-side down in a pan without any fat. This will blacken the onions slightly, but will give the soup a wonderful yellow color and plenty of flavor. Place the onion halves, the chicken, three level teaspoons of salt, and 2 liters of water in a large pot and bring to a boil over very low heat. Finely chop the vegetables and add them as well. Layer the bell peppers, the peeled ginger in one piece, and the cleaned chili pepper on top. Be sure to remove the seeds from the chili, otherwise the soup will be too spicy. Let the soup simmer for at least three hours over very low heat, skimming off the foam every now and then. You can then remove the chicken and make a fricassee with the meat. I add it back to the soup after boneless. Always cook the noodles in a separate pot until soft and do not add them to the soup, as the starch could cloud the soup. Add the noodles and herbs before serving. As a variation, and for meat lovers, you can also add a piece of beef (faux fillet or rump, etc.) to the soup. I do this occasionally when we have a lot of guests. However, I then increase the quantity of ingredients accordingly, except for the ginger and chili pepper.