Újházi-tyúkhúsleves

Ingredients

• 3⅓ lbstewing hencleaned and cut into pieces, rooster also possible
• 12⅔ cupswaterstart cold
• 4carrotcut into large pieces
• 3parsley rootcut into large pieces
• 1celeriacroughly diced, leaves may be added
• 1kohlrabiroughly diced
• 1onionunpeeled, halved, cooked along
• 3 clovesgarlicwhole, in a spice bag or tea infuser
• 5¼ ozMushroomsquartered or sliced, cooked separately
• 7 ozGreen peasfresh or frozen, cooked separately
• 3½ ozsavoy cabbagea few leaves, for flavour only
• 1green pepperdeseeded, cooked along
• 1tomatocooked along, removed before serving (optional)
• 5¼ ozcauliflowerin florets, cooked separately (optional)
• 5¼ ozvermicelli noodlescooked separately
• 1 tspblack peppercornswhole, in a spice bag
• 2 pinchsaffron or safflowerfor colour and aroma (optional)
• 1gingersmall piece, cooked along and removed (optional)
• 1 bunchparsleystems cooked along, leaves chopped for garnish
• saltto taste
• horseradishgrated, served alongside (optional)

Method

1. Cut up the hen, wash it thoroughly inside and out, and put it into a large pot with the cold water. Bring it up slowly, uncovered, skimming off the rising foam carefully while the heat climbs.
2. Put the halved unpeeled onion, the whole garlic cloves, the peppercorns and any other whole spices — a small piece of ginger, saffron or safflower if you like — into a spice bag or tea infuser and drop it into the pot. Let the parsley stems cook along too.
3. Leave the soup uncovered at a bare, pearling simmer for 1.5 to 2.5 hours, never at a rolling boil, until the meat is tender.
4. Clean the carrots, parsley roots, celeriac with its leaves and the kohlrabi, cut them into large pieces and add them along with the deseeded green pepper and, if you like, the tomato once the meat is nearly tender; cook for about 25 minutes. Let the savoy leaves steep only briefly.
5. Cook the button mushrooms, the peas and — if you like — the cauliflower florets separately, either stewed in a little broth ladled from the pot or dry-fried in a pan, and add the resulting liquid back to the soup.
6. Cook the vermicelli separately in salted water or in a little broth and drain.
7. Lift out the meat, remove skin and bones, pull it into bite-sized pieces and keep it warm. Take out the onion, the spice bag, the tomato and the spent vegetables, skim the fat from the surface and strain the broth if you like.
8. Season the broth with salt. Divide the noodles, meat and vegetables between warmed bowls, pour the hot broth over and scatter with chopped parsley; if you like, serve grated horseradish alongside.

Tips and variations

There are two schools: either the broth is strained at the end and the meat and vegetables are put back in, or both stay in the pot unstrained on purpose. For an especially clear soup, let it rest for half an hour after cooking, then strain it gently. The mushrooms are also good browned hard in a dry pan; the meat can be taken off the bone raw, with only the back left in for flavour and lifted out before serving. Instead of vermicelli, csigatészta — little rolled snail noodles — make a fine garnish, and white asparagus is welcome among the vegetables too. Saffron or safflower lends colour, allspice or mace in the pot more fragrance. At the table, grated horseradish or mustard belongs with the meat.