Zeama, traditional chicken soup from Moldova

Wash the chicken thoroughly, cut in pieces of medium size.

We prepare the first set of veggies, the ones meant to give the flavour:

-a carrot, half a pepper, onion, celery root, parsley and parsnip 

The more varied the veggies are, the better, so the soup is tastier and more savoury.

Place chicken covered well with water in a 5 litre cooking pot over heat.

When it comes to the boil, skim off any scum using a spoon or a skimmer.

Add the veggies we prepared earlier and a bay leaf.

Turn the heat to low and simmer for 1-2 hours until chicken is cooked through. 

If you are using store-bought or even home raised chicken, 1 hour will be enough, but a hen or a rooster will need more time to boil until completely cooked.

After this time, remove the veggies from the soup, they did their job.

Dice the rest of the vegetables - the potatoes, 1 carrot and half a pepper.

Finely chop the parsley leaves.

And the onion. 

Tip the diced carrots, potatoes and pepper into the soup pot. Turn the heat to low and boil for 15-20 minutes.

After this time, add the noodles, mix well and boil for 7-10 minutes, depending on how thick they are.

Add 'bors' (fermented wheat bran) to taste.

Add salt to taste. 

Stir well and boil for 5 minutes more.

At the end, stir in the chopped parsley and onion. Yes, it's not a mistake, I always add the onion at the end, it's raw and it gives a special taste to the soup. 

Boil for no more than 10 seconds. It's a tip I know from my grandma.

Now turn off the heat.

Put the lid on and let stay for 15-30 minutes for the flavours to blend. 

Besides parsley, lovage can also be added, I like it without, but this is simply my personal taste.

Serve hot or warm, optionally with dollops of sour cream and cilli pepper. 

Enjoy!