Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:
2 kg (4 ½ lb) boiling fowl (stewing chicken) with the giblets (except the liver)
1 large onion, peeled and halved
2 large carrots, halved lengthways
6 celery sticks, roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
175 gr (6 oz) pasta
45 ml (3 tbsp) chopped fresh parsley or whole parley leaves
salt and ground black pepper

Directions:

Put the chicken into a large pan with all the vegetables and the bay leaf. Cover with 2.4 litres (4 pints) (10 cups) cold water. Bring slowly to the boil, carefully skimming off any scum that rises to the top. Add 5 ml (1 tsp) salt and some ground black pepper.

Turn down the heat and simmer the soup slowly for at least 2 hours, or until the fowl is tender. When simmering, the surface of the liquid should just tremble. If it is allowed to boil, the soup will become cloudy.

When tender, remove the bird from the broth and stir the flesh off the carcass. (Use the meat in sandwiches or a risotto). Return the bones to the soup and simmer for another hour.

Strain the soup into a bowl, cool, then chill overnight. The next day the soup should have set to a solid jelly and will be covered with a thin layer of solidified chicken fat. Carefully remove the fat.

To serve the soup, reheat in a large pan. Add the pasta and chopped parsley, and simmer for a 6-8 minutes until the pasta is cooked. Taste and season well. Serve piping hot.