I love making this chicken soup, its fragrant smell filling the house with a nostalgic aroma. It’s a traditional festive dish eaten by Jewish families during Friday night dinners, yet has made its way onto many people’s tables – a truly heart-warming dish. Each family has its own variation, with recipes often passed down through generations, and mine combines elements from my parents’ mixed heritage. I make several variations, depending on what’s in the refrigerator, but always with onions, carrots, celery and herbs – the rest is optional! Sweet potatoes are delicious, as are leeks and courgettes/zucchini. Don’t be scared to add a generous helping of herbs; they wilt and can be removed before serving, but give a special flavour and aroma you don’t want to miss. A handful of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), brown rice or pearl barley make it more brothy, so be adventurous!

Method:

• Wash the chicken and place in a large saucepan, adding enough water to cover the chicken, about 2l/68fl oz/8½ cups. Bring to the boil and skim off and discard the foam from the top of the water.
• Add all the chopped vegetables to the pan. Add the chickpeas/garbanzo beans (or rice or pearl barley), if using.
• Wash the herbs well and tie them together with string or a rubber band and add to the pan. Add the spices and seasoning. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 1½ hours until the chicken is cooked.
• To serve, shred the chicken, removing the bones, and return it to the broth.

As children, we loved our chicken soup with tiny yellow croutons. They can be found in supermarkets in the kosher aisle.

Limor has shared her recipe as part of the Jewish Museum’s recipe project to collect our Jewish recipe stories. Read all about it – and why they want your recipes and stories too — here.