Italian Chicken Soup

A delicious filling soup, this is not an entree, it's a main. Perfect winter warmer and tastes even better the next day... And the day after that... And the day after that too.. this is a traditional recipe from an Italian family kitchen in a little town in the mountains of the region of Molise. The mixture can seem unusual with parmesan, egg and risoni thrown in, but trust me, its a hearty, filling, very flavoured soup.
The following will serve 6 with plenty left over! But you can freeze half if you have to.
Oh, and its not as watery as the picture...i just forgot to take a piccie of it in the bowl, thats it before the pasta and egg are added.

You Will Need:
Half a bunch of celery (i just use 3 sticks coz im not over keen on celery)
7 medium Potatoes
1 large tomato
2 - 3 carrots
2 large chicken stock cubes
2 large beef stock cubes
1 cup of Risoni Pasta
3 eggs
1/2 cup (i use a whole cup! mmm) of finely grated Parmesan cheese + some for serving
1 large raw chicken

Method:
1. Cut the chook in half and gut it off all Yucky bits and any excess skin. Rinse.

(the left corner has the yucky bits, to give u an idea of how much there might be. eww)

2. Put the chook halves into a large saucepan/pot and fill with water so that it covers the chook and a bit more because the water level will go down from boiling. Crush your stock cubes into the water.

this is showing the two sized stock cubes. youll want the bigger size.

3. Put the lid on and let that get boiling, meanwhile chop up all your vegetables (except the tomato) very small. Place into a large bowl and salt/pepper to taste. Your pot should be boiling by now. Throw in all your Vegies and let moderately boil for 20-30 mins. (until chook is cooked) you'll know because the skin will come off quite easily and the meat will be white.

(veges cut up nice and small)

you may find some frothy stuff forms on top of your soup, just scrape it out and chuck it. I usually only get this with certain brands of stock cube actually, or super fatty chicken. I got it this time somehow so yay heres a pic:

icky froth to remove

4. At this stage take out your chicken, and pour in the risoni. This is also the time to throw in your diced tomato. Taste test the soup and add more stock cubes if needed. I don't personally think it needs more. shred all the good meat off your chicken. I use a fork. It pulls meat off nicely. Throw all the good meat back in the pot and give it a last 5 mins to make sure your pasta is done.

I usually get 4 cups of shredded meat from one large chook.

in goes  the risoni

5. In those 5 mins, crack your eggs, and whisk in the cup of grated Parmesan. Then turn off your stove, and pour the egg mix into the pot right away. It will all cook on the surface within seconds. break it up, give the soup a stirr.
6. Serve this baby with salad and crusty bread. Dont forget to put the parmesan on the table for people to sprinkle on, (or heap on like a mad man as I do) ... it finishes it off perfectly!

Dinner is served!

Side notes:

>Traditional Italian salad is extremely simple. Good for this soup or a spaghetti. Cut up Tomato's and Cuecumbers, (enough for the amount of people your serving) then toss in equal parts of brown vinager and good quality olive oil with a little salt. You can also add a sliced up white salad onion if its in season (they are flatter than normal white onions, more like a spinning top than a ball, and they are less pungent). Let sit for a few mins, toss again just before serving. Youll have the liquid at the bottom of the bowl so do toss whenever you take more salad. Its tangy and fresh. yum!

> This soup keeps nicely in the freezer. When left in the fridge overnight the soup will turn solid. add a 1/3 cup of water when reheating or more just to make it less thick again if desired.