Chicken For Chicken Soup and Kneidlach

Our answer

The Chicken Soup And Kneidlach (from NIGELLA BITES) is Nigella's version of the chicken soup that she used to eat as a child. A whole chicken is simmered in water until it has imparted most of its flavour to make a chicken stock (brith), then the meat is torn into pieces to add to the stock to make a soup. The soup is served with dumplings made from matzo meal.

Nigella mentions using a boiling chicken. A boiling chicken is an older chicken that is usually slightly too tough to roast but is good for boiling or poaching as this moister method will give tender, but not dry, meat. When the recipe was written it was easier to find boiling chickens than it is now, though you may be able to buy one from a good butcher. Most chickens sold now are "broiler" chickens that are bred to be suitable for faster cooking methods, such as roasting and pan frying. You can use one of these chickens for the recipe but you should reduce the cooking time to 1.5-2 hours. If you need to boost the flavour of the stock for soup then you can add a little stock (bouillon) powder. You may also like to try Nigella's My Mother's Praised Chicken as this is the chicken and rice dish mentioned in the introduction to the Chicken Soup and updates the cooking method for a broiler chicken.