HUS Leves - Hungarian meat soup - recipe

I love the aroma as this dish cooks, long and slow.   and I love the taste.

I use quantities of any ingredient without measure - put in as much of any to suit.

This recipe makes a great chicken soup or osso bucco (replace beef) - serve with nokedli, (homemade Hungarian noodles) or if you prefer, pasta noodles.   

*you can use beef, chicken or osso bucco.

Ingredients

• *beef chuck and/or brisket - cubed
• marrow bones
• 3-4 pieces of chicken with bone and skin (thighs and breasts or whatever you prefer)
• a stock pot filled ½ way with cold water
• 1 large onion in whole, unpeeled
• 2-4 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 12 peppercorns, salt
• fresh parsley
• 4-5 celery stalks, preferable the internal stalks with the leaves
• 6 whole carrots, cleaned 4 whole potatoes, peeled

optional:
add parsnips, peeled but whole, 1/2 celery root, peeled, mushrooms

METHOD:

• Soak the beef in cold water for 30 minutes, drain.
• While waiting for the beef to soak, wash chicken parts, set in pot with cold water. Add the beef meat and bones and more fresh cold water if necessary. Begin cooking on low heat.
  Do not let the water come to the boil. Allow the soup to sweat instead of simmer. Small circles of fat will come to the surface and vibrate. Do NOT at any time stir the pot!
• As the soup sweats, scoop the scum that floats to the top, with a slotted spoon.
  When you think no more scum will come to the top add the salt, fresh parsley, garlic, and peppercorns.
• Wash the whole onion and then cut out the root end and add to the pot.
• Peel and wash all the other vegetables, but do not chop them, [keep them whole]. Set them aside for use later.
• Let the soup sweat for 2-3 hours.
• When the meat in the soup is getting close to being tender add the carrots, potatoes, parsnips, celery. Do not raise the heat. Let the soup sweat.
• When the soup has been sweating for six hours or more and the meat and all the vegetables are tender,
  very gently pour the broth through a large fine sieve into a clean soup pot. Let the meat and the vegetables cool a bit.
  
• Cut the breast meat into serving size pieces. Keep the thighs as they are but remove and discard all the
  skins. Put the meat back in the soup. Gently heat the meat and vegetables and then the soup is ready to serve.
• Boil water and cook the nokedli or the noodles. Drain and place in the soup bowls and ladle some clear broth over it. Arrange the meat and vegetables over the top of the noodles, sprinkle with salt and serve with toast.  The image below is how my soup finished up and i made nokedli (homemade Hungarian noodles).

Jó étvágyat! Enjoy your meal!