Grandma's Comfort Chicken Soup with Drumsticks Recipe
The warmth of Grandma's Comfort Chicken Soup with Drumsticks Recipe is a soul-soothing experience. Tender drumsticks mingle with aromatic veggies creating a nostalgic embrace of savory goodness.
Ingredients
- 8 chicken drumsticks
- 3-4 medium carrots, sliced
- 1 medium parsley root
- 2 medium parsnip roots
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 medium onions, whole (just slightly cut once at the bottom to release the flavor)
- 1 cup green peas, frozen
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ inch (1.5 cm) piece of ginger (grated)
- 3 tbsp granulated Vegeta bouillon
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp dried basil
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 2 cups any type of noodles
- 10 cups cold water
- freshly ground black pepper
- fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Rinse the chicken drumsticks under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Wash and chop the carrots and celery. Mince the garlic and grate the ginger. (I like to leave my parsley and parsnips whole, just quartered lengthwise as my daughter does not like the white veggies, just the carrots. This way I can easily scoop them out when serving the soup.)
- In a large pot, add the chicken drumsticks, the veggies and the bay leaf.
- Cover with water (at this point you can use whatever you have on hand: store-bought chicken stock, your own homemade chicken broth, or bone broth. In this case, adjust the granulated Vegeta bouillon at the end, or skip it altogether, depending on the seasoning of your broth). Add one teaspoon of salt (the salt will collect all the scum at the surface of the soup). Turn the stove on medium-low heat.
- Once the soup is boiling, reduce the heat and let the soup cook on a low simmer for about 25-30 minutes or until the chicken meat is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. During the cooking, occasionally remove the scum and fat that gather at the top of the soup, with a fine mesh skimmer. This way your soup will remain nice and clear at the end. While the soup is simmering, add the chicken bouillon.
- When cooking the egg noodles you can either add them straight to the pot in the last 5-7 minutes (cook 2 minutes less than the package instructions as they will continue to cook in the soup) or you can cook them separately in some soup or salted water (see my tips below).
- Once the soup is cooked, take out the drumsticks, remove the bones, and shred the meat. Place the shredded chicken back into the soup.
- Add the thyme, basil, oregano, and pepper, and adjust the seasoning to your liking. Remove the bay leaf and the whole onions.
- Place the noodles in the serving bowls. Scoop out some veggies and meat. Then pour the rest of the soup in each bowl through a strainer. This way the soup in each bowl will be nice and clear. Garnish with fresh parsley and enjoy!