My Aunt’s Chicken Meatball Soup

Ingredients (~8 servings)

• ~3 lbs whole chicken (roasting or stewing chicken works better than young chicken)
• ~10 cups water (enough to cover chicken in pot)
• 3/4 lb carrots, peeled with ends trimmed
• 3 celery stalks, rinsed clean
• 1 large sweet yellow onion, peeled and sliced
• Small handful fresh parsley, stems removed
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 3 large basil leaves (or 3/4 tsp dried basil)
• 1 1/2 tbsp peppercorns
• 1 1/2 tsp salt (plus more as needed)
• 2 whole peeled tomatoes from can, drained and broken up by hand
• 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• 3 tbsp finely grated Parmesan cheese (plus extra for serving)
• 3 tbsp plain bread crumbs
• 3/4 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup soup broth
• 1 lb small shells or any small pasta

 

To Create a Base for Chicken Soup

Take the chicken’s giblets out of its body, and throw them away.

Place the whole bird into a stockpot (8 quart), add enough cold water to cover it over by 2″ above the bird’s height. As the broth heats up, it will develop a layer of “scummy” material on top; this is where all the junk collects. You want to keep skimming the scum off after about 30 minutes. You can tell when the skimming process is finished because you’ll have clear broth.

Then, as you’re skimming off the scum, prep all of the vegetables: the carrots should be peeled and trimmed, but keep them as whole pieces; the celery should be rinsed; cut-up onion; and cleaned-up parsley.

Once you are finished skimming, add all of these vegetables and all the herbs, black peppercorns, kosher salt (to taste), and tomatoes broken into 4 pieces. Cover the pot and allow to simmer for 4 hours if you are using an older rooster; or, for 3 hours if you’re using a young rooster.

Place on high heat; once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to low.

After the soup has finished cooking, transfer the whole bird onto a large cutting board and allow to cool enough that you can handle it.

Then, take a large fine mesh strainer and pour the cooked soup through it back into another stockpot; the vegetables should have softened; they can be reused if you would like to add them back into your soup.

The chicken should be skinless; remove all bones and throw them away; use 2 forks to shred the meat from the bird into small pieces; you should have approximately 1.25 lbs. of shredded chicken.

To Prepare Chicken Meatballs

Combine chicken, cheese, breadcrumb, parsley, dried basil, salt, garlic powder, pepper, and egg.

Using your hands, mix together all ingredients and then, gradually, add each ladleful (~1/2 cup) of the soup broth until you have the desired moisture in the mixture (it should not be wet). You will probably not require all of the broth.

Check the mixture for flavor and adjust as necessary with more salt or pepper or Parmesan.

Roll the mixture into 1″ round balls and lay them on sheet pans in a single layer. The meatballs will expand during cooking.

The finished meatballs can stay at room temperature for up to 2 hours or be stored in the refrigerator overnight.

To Cook Chicken Meatballs

Set up your stove to have multiple pots ready for cooking. You will have a large pot of hot soup (not turned on) for holding your finished meatballs, a separate pot for cooking your pasta later, a shallow pan for cooking your meatballs, and a pot half full of soup for holding finished meatballs.

In the shallow pan, heat 2 cups of soup broth and 2 cups of water over medium-high heat until boiling. Place enough meatballs to fill the pan completely in a single layer.

Once meatballs are in boiling liquid, gently simmer for an additional 5-6 minutes; they should rise to the top when complete. Remove meatballs from the shallow pan using a slotted spoon and transfer to the holding pot.

Continue cooking the remainder of the meatballs in batches, adding additional broth and water as needed.

Preparing and Serving Pasta

When ready to serve, turn on heat for the pot containing your pasta, and reduce the heat for the pot with the meatballs and broth.

Place your pasta into the boiling liquid and cook until “al dente.” Do not drain.

When ready to serve, place some pasta in the bottom of each bowl. Place six meatballs on top, and ladle the broth over the top of all. Serve extra Parmesan to guests at the table.

Store soup, pasta, and meatballs separately in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The soup and cooked meatballs can be frozen for up to 3 months.