Kokošja Čorba — Serbian Chicken Soup

The Serbian Sunday soup — chicken simmered with carrots, parsnip, and fresh parsley root, finished
with fine home-cut noodles (and, in Serbian grandmother tradition, a small lump of butter in each
bowl). Clean, nourishing, deeply satisfying. Every Serbian child grew up on it.

FASTING LEVEL: Non-Fasting (chicken, eggs in noodles, butter)

SERVINGS: 6
TIME: 2 hours

INGREDIENTS:
- 1 whole chicken (1.5 kg)
- 3 litres water
- 3 carrots, halved
- 1 parsnip
- 1 celery root (small), quartered
- 1 leek, whole (washed)
- 2 onions, halved (skins on)
- 1 bunch fresh parsley, with roots if possible
- 2 bay leaves
- 10 whole black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon salt

For the noodles:
- 200 g wide egg noodles (tagliatelle), or home-made
- 50 g butter, for serving (a pat per bowl)
- Fresh parsley, chopped
- Black pepper, freshly ground

For homemade noodles (optional, very traditional):
- 150 g flour
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- Pinch salt

METHOD:
1. Place chicken in a large pot. Cover with cold water. Bring slowly to a boil, skimming foam thoroughly.
2. Add carrots, parsnip, celery root, leek, onions, parsley, bay leaves, peppercorns, and salt. Reduce to a bare simmer.
3. Cook 75-90 minutes until chicken is very tender and falling off the bone.
4. Remove chicken; strain broth. Discard aromatics (or save carrots to return to the soup).
5. Shred chicken meat; discard skin and bones.
6. If making homemade noodles: mix flour, egg, water, salt. Knead 5 minutes. Rest 30 minutes. Roll paper-thin, let dry briefly, fold and cut into thin strips.
7. Bring broth back to a simmer. Add noodles; cook until tender (homemade: 3-4 minutes; dried: per package).
8. Return shredded chicken to the pot. Warm through.
9. Taste for salt and pepper.
10. Ladle into deep bowls. Add a small pat of butter to each bowl (it melts into the soup — Serbian grandmother's signature). Top with fresh parsley.

NOTES:
- The slow, gentle simmer and thorough foam-skimming give Serbian chicken soup its clarity. Never boil hard.
- Parsley root is the secret ingredient — it adds depth that mere parsley leaves cannot. Ask your greengrocer if you can't see it — often sold with the leaves still attached.
- The butter-in-each-bowl custom is peculiarly Serbian. Do not omit; it is the soup's signature.
- A small glass of rakija before dinner, a small glass after — Serbian soup tradition.

NUTRITION (per serving, approximate):
Calories: 320 | Protein: 30 g | Carbohydrates: 24 g | Fat: 10 g | Fibre: 2 g