Maureen’s Chicken Soup — The One That Finally Tasted Right Again

The OB appointment was Thursday and there is a heartbeat. I know this is exactly what is supposed to happen and that most pregnancies that have a heartbeat at this point continue to term and all the clinical knowledge I have about this is, as I mentioned, simultaneously reassuring and no match for the moment you hear the sound in the room. Sean D. held my hand and when the heartbeat came through he made a sound I've never heard him make before — not a word, just a sound — and I held his hand and we listened to our child's heartbeat together in a medical office in Boston and I thought: okay. We're doing this. We're actually doing this.

We told Maureen and Sean Sr. Sunday at dinner. I'd spent the drive over thinking about how to tell them and ended up doing what I always do when I overthink things: I stopped thinking and just said it. "We're going to have a baby." Maureen put her hand over her mouth. Sean Sr. set down his fork. Then Maureen cried, which I have seen maybe four times in my adult life and which means something has reached her at the level below the level where she operates all the time. Sean Sr. stood up and hugged Sean D. with both arms, which is not a gesture Sean Sr. usually deploys, and said something I couldn't hear, and Sean D. nodded and said, "Yes sir," and whatever that exchange was it was private and appropriate and I'm glad it happened.

Patrick called me an hour later, having already gotten the news from Maureen, and said, "You're going to be an amazing mother" and then immediately course-corrected to being Patrick, which meant immediately following it with, "Also the baby better root for the Sox." Correct and correct.

The nausea is better this week. I made a real soup Sunday — Maureen's chicken soup, the proper version with the whole chicken and the vegetables and the long slow process — and it tasted right for the first time in two weeks. Sometimes the right food is the food that has meant something for a long time.

There’s a version of chicken soup you make from a can and a version you make from a carton and then there’s the version Maureen makes, which starts with a whole chicken and ends three hours later with something that feels like it’s been holding you together your whole life. After weeks of nothing tasting quite right, this was the first thing that did — and I think that had less to do with the nausea finally easing and more to do with the fact that some recipes carry the weight of the people who taught them to you. This is that recipe.

Maureen’s Chicken Soup

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours 50 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds), rinsed and patted dry
• 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch rounds
• 4 stalks celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and quartered
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, stems and leaves separated
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 12 cups cold water
• 1 cup wide egg noodles (optional)
• Fresh lemon juice, to taste

Instructions

1. Build the pot. Place the whole chicken in a large stockpot or Dutch oven. Add the onion quarters, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, parsley stems, salt, and peppercorns. Pour in the cold water — it should just cover the chicken. If it doesn’t, add a bit more.
2. Bring it up slowly. Set the pot over medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer. Do not let it reach a hard boil. Skim any foam that rises to the surface during the first 15 minutes.
3. Simmer low and long. Reduce heat to low, partially cover, and let it simmer gently for 1 hour and 30 minutes. The chicken should be completely tender and falling away from the bone.
4. Remove the chicken. Use tongs and a slotted spoon to carefully transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Let it cool until you can handle it, about 15 minutes. Shred the meat into bite-sized pieces, discarding skin, bones, and cartilage.
5. Strain and return. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pot, discarding the spent vegetables, herbs, and peppercorns. You should have about 8 to 10 cups of broth.
6. Add the fresh vegetables. Bring the strained broth back to a simmer over medium heat. Add the carrots and celery and cook until tender but not mushy, about 12 to 15 minutes. If using egg noodles, add them in the last 8 minutes of cooking.
7. Finish the soup. Return the shredded chicken to the pot. Chop the reserved parsley leaves and stir them in. Season with additional salt and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Taste it. Adjust until it tastes right to you — you’ll know.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 280 | Protein: 30g | Fat: 12g | Carbs: 10g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 520mg