Shemittah and Chicken Soup

bs"d

 

There was a call by Kosher Carnival for Shemittah related recipes.  Here it goes.

 

In the Shemittah years, agricultural farmers don't get an income from their fields since they are let to lie fallow.  So if they are not chicken producers how will they have enough money to buy chicken for chicken soup.  The answer is that G-d provides it for them.  How does this happen.  It can happen in countless ways.  Perhaps a chicken producer, goes to the farmer''s fields and picks fruits for free and in turn recognizes that the farmer may need chickens for free and donates one of his chickens to him....  Or, a layperson goes to the farmers field and picks fruit and then puts money into the farmers Makolet account thereby paying off his Makolet debt . The possibilities are endless. 

 

 I have a serious problem about the Sefichim prohibition (One is not allowed to pick vegetables that grew on their own in the Shemittah year.  The reason is because vegetables are annuals, planted every year.  The rabbis are afraid that a farmer may cheat and plant vegetables and say it grew on its own).  Did Hashem really not want us to have carrots in our chicken soup?  I can't believe that.  There must be some answer.   

 

Why is Chicken Soup related to Shemittah.  Shemittah is Shabbat Haaretz and this recipe is a traditional food eaten on Shabbat.

 

Bs"d

 

Ticker's Friday Night Shabbat Chicken Soup Recipe

 

Remove skin and fat from 1  chicken.

 

Put chicken quarters into 9-10 cups of cold water with medium onion, 2 cloves of  garlic, 2 teaspoon salt or salt to taste. Place on medium flame.  While chicken is cooking clean vegetables.   4-5 carrots, 1 parsnip, 1 turnip, 2 celery stalks 1 leak (cut leek down side and wash the individual leaves from dirt).   When the soup minus the vegetables just starts to boil, skim off grease and scum Don't boil hard. When the broth is as clear as you can get it, add clean and cut vegetables to boiling soup.   Cook the soup that now contains the vegetables on a low flame partially covered for one additional  hour. Turn off flame.  Let the soup cool. Take out the chicken pieces from the soup and put it in a separate container..  I throw out the onion, garlic and turnip.  If the soup is to be eaten on a different day take out all the vegetables and put them in a separate container. Put the broth in separate storage containers.   I get around 2 quarts of broth. Sometimes more and sometimes less.

 

I bone the chicken since my family likes the soup with the cooked chicken inside.  I usually reheat the soup with the vegetables and add  chicken pieces to dished out steaming soup. When the soup is being served each person can specify how they wish the soup.  Some like just the plain broth. Some like the broth with pieces of cooked white chicken only. Others like it  with pieces of dark chicken.  Each person chooses which vegetables they want in their soup if any.  Bon Apetite and Good Shabbos!

 

 

 

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