Rosół (Rossu) – Polish chicken broth

Ingredients for 3 servings:

• 150 g chicken
• 2 carrots
• ¼ celery root
• ½ stalk(s) leek
• ½ bunch parsley
• n. B. Salt
• n. B. Pfeffer
• some Maggi
• some water

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

The chicken can be a whole chicken, or just 1-2 chicken legs, or several wings (so just ignore the quantities). A traditional Rosół also includes chicken hearts and gizzards. These aren’t required, however. You should try, as they taste much better than they sound. The skinless meat is placed in a large pot and covered with more water than intended for soup. This is because the water evaporates and may reduce the amount to far too little. The meat is cooked on its own for at least 20 minutes. If you add gizzards, however, the whole thing needs to cook for at least 45-60 minutes, as they take an incredibly long time to soften. The hearts will cook just as quickly as the rest of the meat. While the meat is cooking, you can peel and halve the vegetables, i.e., carrots and celery. Remove the roots from the leek, wash it thoroughly, and also cut it in half. Once the meat has cooked for the specified time, add the vegetables and simmer everything together for another half hour. After half an hour, take a second pot and a sieve. Place the sieve over the empty pot and pour the broth into it. Skin the meat, remove the bones, and chop them up. Chop the gizzards, too, but you can leave the hearts whole. Dice the carrots and celery and add them to the soup along with the meat. Only the leek can be discarded. Season the soup with salt, Maggi, and pepper. Finely chop the parsley and add it directly to the bowl; this is the best way to complement the two. Tip: Soup noodles go very well with this broth, but they must be cooked separately and should not be stored mixed with the rest of the soup, as otherwise it will go bad more quickly.