Rosół or Polish Chicken Soup is a traditional Polish soup, that me and my siblings loved the most when growing up. I call Rosół the queen of Polish soups. My patents would cook it on Sundays with Mama’s home made noodles, cooked carrots and pieces of chicken. We would sprinkle it with chopped fresh parsley or chives. Back in the day, we couldn’t imagine a Sunday without rosół.
50 years later, I still can’t imagine not having a polish chicken soup at least once a week, especially during cold winter months. I still love it as much as I loved it when I was 10 years old.
Here is my Mom’s traditional Polish chicken soup recipe that I’ve been using for the last 40+ years.
Ingredients:
- 5 chicken breasts or drumsticks
- 2 carrots (large)
- 2 parsnips (large)
- 2 celery sticks
- 1 leek
- 1 yellow onion
- 4 cups (1 liter) chicken or vegetable broth
- 8 cups (2 liters) water
- a bunch of springs parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 2 bay leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Step 1
Wash the chicken under cold water.
Wash the celery, leek and parsley. Trim your leek. Peel the carrots, parsnips and onion and cut into large pieces.
Place all your veggies in the pot with the chicken.
Add two bay leaves, 1/2 teaspoon allspice and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves. Finally, pour in two literes (8 cups) of fresh, cold water and 4 cups (1 liter) of chicken or vegetable broth.
Step 2
Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer uncovered for about 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
After boiling, use a spoon to collect the white foam from the top of the broth to prevent the soup from turning bitter or sour. You will probably need to do it a few times during the cooking.
Step 3
In the meantime, boil the noodles separately and then run the cold water over them to remove starch.
Step 4
When chicken is cooked and vegetables are tender, remove them from the soup and let them cool for a minute or two. I don’t like leek, onion and parsnip roots in my soup, so I discard them but you can use them if you like. Cut carrots and celery sticks into slices or cubes.
Shred chicken breasts with two forks.
Step 5
Transfer carrots, celery and the chicken back to the pot, stir it and cook for another 5 minutes. Check the taste and season the soup with salt and pepper if necessary.
When the soup is done, remove the bay leaves and discard them.
Add noodles to a bowl.
Ladle the soup into your bowl with chopped carrots, celery and pieces of chicken.
Serve hot, sprinkled generously with freshly chopped parsley or chives. Enjoy!
It is believed that Rosół have a healing power. Whenever anyone in my family shows signs of a cold, I’m immediately running to the kitchen to make the chicken soup. We always feel better right away after one hot bowl of this amazing soup. It has anti-inflammatory properties that soothe sore throat and ease the misery of colds and flu.
SMACZNEGO!!!
