The Fine Art of Family eMagazine

As soon your mom heard so much as a sniffle from you, you knew what was coming next: A big warm bowl of chicken soup. This dish has been the go-to answer to coughs, colds, and runny noses for as long as most of us can remember.

American culture is steeped in soup. Its position as a social icon is perhaps best illustrated in Andy Warhol’s famous 1962 artwork of Campbell’s soup, bearing the familiar red-and-white labels (now on display at the MoMA in New York City). Though the more than 130-year-old soup giant was among the first to distribute condensed soup (a much-needed answer to the food spoilage problem) in 1899, Campbell’s did not introduce Americans to the concept of hot broth and its healing powers.

“As early as the 12th century, the theologian, philosopher and physician, Moses Maimonides wrote, ‘Chicken soup…is recommended as an excellent food as well as medication,’” according to Chest, the official publication of the American College of Chest Physicians.

Building off this centuries’ old notion, Campbell’s began creating marketing initiatives in the 1930s that encouraged mothers to deem its soup as a comforting, restorative and healthy product for the whole family. Around that same time, it released the first can of Chicken Noodle Soup. To top it off, these easy-to-make and affordable meals in a can had a good taste, which led to one of their most clever ad slogans created in 1935: “M’m M’m Good.”

While Campbell’s and other great soup makers are still churning out lots of cans, nothing compares to simmering your own homemade pot. Here’s a delicious recipe from Elise Bauer, the mastermind behind the popular food and cooking blog called Simply Recipes. In case you haven’t heard of her, Bauer started the blog back in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family’s heirloom recipes (we love that!). Here is her mom’s chicken soup recipe.

Mom’s Cold-Season Chicken Soup Recipe

From Elise Bauer

Ingredients

* 4 cups of homemade chicken stock

* Fat from the homemade chicken stock (the stuff that has risen to the surface and solidified)

* 1 yellow onion, peeled and roughly diced

* 2 carrots, sliced in half-inch slices (about the same amount as onion)

* 2 celery stalks, sliced in 1/4 inch slices (about the same amount as the onion)

* 1 Tbsp fresh parsley leaves

* 1 Tbsp of chopped greens from a green onion (green part of the green onion)

* 1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning

* 1/8 teaspoon (a pinch) of crushed red pepper flakes (or a small pinch of cayenne)

* Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Over medium high heat,  warm a tablespoon of the homemade chicken fat (add some olive oil if you don’t have enough)  in a four-quart saucepan.  Sauté all the vegetables in the fat until the carrots are nearly done. While you are cooking the vegetables, mix in the poultry seasoning, pepper flakes, a pinch of salt and dash of pepper. By seasoning the veggies while cooking them, you can really bring out their flavor. Add the stock and bring to a low simmer. Add the parsley and greens. Season to taste.

Best served with day-old crusty French bread.

Serves 3.

[Photo credit: laurenatclemson]

Tags: Celebrating, Cooking Classics, Food