POLISH CHICKEN SOUP (ROSÓŁ)
Polish chicken soup, or rosół, is a traditional Polish soup made of meat (most commonly just chicken, although other meats are added as well), slowly cooked with vegetables and spices. Although many variations and recipes have existed for centuries, it has always consisted of a rich and nutritious one-pot broth served during Sunday, wedding, or holiday dinners, and to remedy a cold, flu, or many other ailments. Particularly during winter, illness, and flu season, it can be easily prepared to make an entire family feel better and cozier, and nourished back to health.
The Polish word rosół itself stems from “sól” (salt) and “rozsól” (to desalt). Before the times of modern refrigeration, meat was preserved and stored by being salted and dried. Therefore, in order to make it edible once again, salted and dried meat had to be desalted, or soaked in water. For that reason, it only follows that the recipe starts with the three simple ingredients: chicken, water, and salt, which are cooked on very medium to low heat until the meat appears cooked. Only then other ingredients are added. Rosół must be a “clear broth prepared with great art,” described as the first course of the feast in Pan Tadeusz, the Polish literary masterpiece by Adam Mickiewicz deemed the last great epic poem in European literature.
Our basic recipe below uses only chicken, although we have also added other meats before, such as marrow bones. We typically use a whole young organic chicken without giblets and neck (such as Publix GreenWise), although a sufficient amount of other individual chicken parts with bone will work too (such as drumsticks).
As for the vegetables, you absolutely must have red bell pepper, celery stalks, and carrot. Our recipe also calls for parsnip, onion, garlic, and parsley (for garnish). However, feel free to add cauliflower, a couple of mushrooms, or leeks.
The most important technique for cooking the perfect Polish chicken soup, rosół, is that, in order for it to come out clear, it must be cooked slowly, on medium to low heat. High-boiling the broth will prohibit it from being as clear and flavorful as possible. Ideally, you let the meat and salt cook slowly in water for at least an hour, then for at least another hour with the remaining ingredients.
We typically use a large stock or soup pot for cooking rosół. The size of the pot depends on the size of the chicken and amount of vegetables used. We used a 10QT pot for the recipe below.
ROSÓŁ INGREDIENTS:
- 1 whole young chicken without giblets and neck (such as Publix GreenWise), although a sufficient amount of other individual chicken parts with bone will work too (such as 6 drumsticks)
- ½ TSP salt
- Half of 1 pack of celery stalks
- 2 red bell peppers
- 5 large carrots
- 3 parsnips
- 1 sweet onion
- A few cloves of garlic (we used 8)
- Fresh parsley (for garnish)
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 1/2 TBS Vegeta All-Purpose Seasoning Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases (at no additional cost to you). We have discussed Vegeta here.
- 2 TBS Soy sauce
- 1 1/2 TBS powdered chicken bullion
DIRECTIONS:
Prepare the chicken. The United States Department of Agriculture does not recommend washing raw poultry, because it can cross-contaminate other foods, utensils, and surfaces, and because boiling the meat kills all bacteria. However, because we like to skin the chicken and remove all loose fat, we also wash it in very cold water.
Place the chicken in a soup pot (we used a 10QT pot), and fill it with water until it’s about ¾ full (depending on how much vegetables you have, and how big your pot is).
Add about 1/2 TSP of salt.
Bring to a slow boil, and then simmer/cook on medium to low heat, almost-covered, for approximately 1 hour.
Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables as described below. Be sure to regularly check on the meat to make sure it is neither over-boiling nor not boiling at all.
Peel 5 carrots and 3 parsnips, and trim off ends.
Halve and deseed 2 large red bell peppers.
Cut 1 pack of celery stalks in half. Keep 1 half for the soup (save the other half for something else).
Peel a few cloves of garlic (we peeled 8 small ones, because we love garlic).
Peel and halve 1 sweet onion.
Wash the vegetables well. You can clean, wash, and rinse the vegetables together, allowing them to soak in water for some time to ensure that any dirt comes out during all the rinses.
Separately, rinse fresh parsley in cold water.
Chop the carrots, parsnip, onion, and bell peppers into small pieces. The garlic can either be used whole (in cloves) or minced.
We don’t like to add chopped celery stalks, as once the soup is done cooking, we simply remove them from the soup (leaving the flavor without the bulk of the celery chunks). But, if you like having chunks of celery in your soup, go ahead and chop the stalks too.
Once the chicken appears to be fully cooked (ideally having slowly cooked for at least an hour), you can start adding the vegetables into the pot.
You want to start by adding the hardest ones first (the ones that require the most cooking to soften), such as carrots, parsley, and garlic, celery.
Tip: if you add minced the garlic instead of whole cloves, the soup is going to smell and taste a lot more garlicky.
Add 3 bay leaves.
Continue cooking for 15 minutes.
Add the remaining vegetables (onion and red bell pepper).
Add soy sauce, Vegeta, and powdered chicken bullion.
Stir gently with a wooden spoon and continue cooking for another 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, drain the parsley well, and finely chop. Set aside to serve as garnish.
Be sure to regularly check on the meat to make sure it is neither over-boiling nor not boiling at all.
Taste the soup to make sure nothing should be added based on your amounts and ingredients used, if deviated from this recipe.
When done, turn off the heat. Take out the celery stalks. Let stand on the stove until the pot cools down before putting in a refrigerator.
Tip: the soup tastes best once the flavors have blended.
Polish chicken soup, rosół, can be served with noodles, rice, egg drop, or potatoes. Noodles, rice, or potatoes are typically prepared and stored separately, and only served with the soup being ladled over them.