Hen Borscht

How to prepare hen borscht

1. Clean and cut the chicken into pieces, then wash in cold water. Put it in a large pot and cover with cold water (about 4L). Cook over low heat.
   * if we put the chicken in cold water, the soup will turn out better; if instead we want the meat to be tastier, we put it in boiling water.
2. Add the bunch of parsley and black peppercorns to the pot, plus 2 teaspoons of salt. Simmer over low heat, just enough to bubble gently. During the first hour, skim the soup with a slotted spoon until you see no more foam forming on top. Cook for 3 hours total.
   * the meat should be well cooked, falling off the bones
3. Place a fine strainer (with cheesecloth if you have it) over an empty pot and strain the soup.
   * straining the soup will make it even clearer
4. Put the strained soup back on the heat (I got 3L of soup) and add all the vegetables cut into small cubes. Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes.
5. While the vegetables cook, remove the meat from the bones and cut it into cubes. Add the meat to the soup.
   * the meat can be left on the bones and added to the soup that way
7. Bring the bors to a boil and add it to the soup. Add it gradually until the soup becomes as sour as you like. I added 400 ml of bors to the 3L of soup.
   * the general rule is 500 ml bors to 4L of soup, but obviously this depends on your taste and how sour the bors is, so it's better to add it gradually and keep tasting, especially if you're from Transylvania 😋
8. Let the soup simmer for another 5 minutes, then turn off the heat. Adjust salt to taste, you'll probably need more.
9. Cook the noodles separately. Drain them and add to the soup pot.
10. Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley and lovage.

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