The secret to good chicken soup is simple: you need a high proportion of chicken to water. Please never begin with commercial chicken broth or bone broth and never add chicken bouillon cubes or granules to the pot at any stage. As for the chicken, wings and bones make the most flavorful soup, as do chicken feet, but you also want some meat to shred for the finished bowls, so add a few meaty parts to the pot. You can also start with a whole chicken, which I like to cut up since a whole cooked bird tends to fall apart in the broth and and it's a mess to remove from the pot. The vegetables here are in large pieces, and easy to fish out of the broth with a slotted spoon so they're nice looking in the bowls. Besides onion, celery, carrot (leave them in long lengths), and rutabaga, all called for here -- rutabaga is the unsung hero of my chicken soup -- you can also add a parsnip or two, but their flavor can dominate the pot, as can turnip. Tie up a few parsley stems to flavor the soup, with whole peppercorns and a bay leaf; use the parsley leaves, chopped, to garnish the bowls later. Plan to make the soup the day before you want to serve it so you can refrigerate the chicken and vegetables separately from the broth. The next day, remove the solidified fat from the top of the broth and reheat it with everything back in the pot. Cook noodles, rice, or matzo balls separately so they don't cloud the broth and soak it up. I serve chicken soup with lots of shredded meat and vegetables so it's a main course, warming and nourishing and uplifting.

1. If any of the chicken pieces have backbone attached, use your fingers to remove and discard any liver-like pieces that adhere to the inside of the backbone.

2. In a soup pot, combine the chicken, celery, onion, carrots, and rutabaga. Add the cold water and bring to a boil.

3. Skim the surface of the water thoroughly. Turn down the heat and add the bay leaf, peppercorns, salt, and parsley stems. Simmer the chicken for 1 hour, skimming the surface thoroughly every 15 minutes. The water should barely bubble. The soup is done when the meat pulls away from the bones. Simmer 15 minutes longer, if necessary.

4. Use a large slotted spoon to remove the vegetables from the broth and transfer them to a large container. Transfer the chicken to a bowl. Strain the broth into another large container. Let everything cool. Shred the chicken, discarding the skin and bones. Add the meat to the container of vegetables. Cover and refrigerate both containers overnight.

5. With a slotted spoon, skim off and discard the solidified fat on the top of the broth.

6. Tip the broth, chicken, and vegetables into a soup pot. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let the soup barely simmer for 5 minutes. Ladle into bowls with noodles, rice, or matzo balls, if you like. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

The secret to good chicken soup is simple: you need a high proportion of chicken to water. Please never begin with commercial chicken broth or bone broth and never add chicken bouillon cubes or granules to the pot at any stage. As for the chicken, wings and bones make the most flavorful soup, as do chicken feet, but you also want some meat to shred for the finished bowls, so add a few meaty parts to the pot. You can also start with a whole chicken, which I like to cut up since a whole cooked bird tends to fall apart in the broth and and it's a mess to remove from the pot. The vegetables here are in large pieces, and easy to fish out of the broth with a slotted spoon so they're nice looking in the bowls. Besides onion, celery, carrot (leave them in long lengths), and rutabaga, all called for here -- rutabaga is the unsung hero of my chicken soup -- you can also add a parsnip or two, but their flavor can dominate the pot, as can turnip. Tie up a few parsley stems to flavor the soup, with whole peppercorns and a bay leaf; use the parsley leaves, chopped, to garnish the bowls later. Plan to make the soup the day before you want to serve it so you can refrigerate the chicken and vegetables separately from the broth. The next day, remove the solidified fat from the top of the broth and reheat it with everything back in the pot. Cook noodles, rice, or matzo balls separately so they don't cloud the broth and soak it up. I serve chicken soup with lots of shredded meat and vegetables so it's a main course, warming and nourishing and uplifting.

4pounds chicken parts (thighs, drumsticks, wings, breasts) or chicken bones1stalk celery, thinly sliced1large onion, cut into 1-inch dice4medium carrots, cut into 4-inch lenths1medium rutabaga, cut into 1-inch dice3quarts cold water1 bay leaf3whole peppercorns1tablespoon salt4sprigs fresh parsley, stems tied together, leaves chopped

1. If any of the chicken pieces have backbone attached, use your fingers to remove and discard any liver-like pieces that adhere to the inside of the backbone.

2. In a soup pot, combine the chicken, celery, onion, carrots, and rutabaga. Add the cold water and bring to a boil.

3. Skim the surface of the water thoroughly. Turn down the heat and add the bay leaf, peppercorns, salt, and parsley stems. Simmer the chicken for 1 hour, skimming the surface thoroughly every 15 minutes. The water should barely bubble. The soup is done when the meat pulls away from the bones. Simmer 15 minutes longer, if necessary.

4. Use a large slotted spoon to remove the vegetables from the broth and transfer them to a large container. Transfer the chicken to a bowl. Strain the broth into another large container. Let everything cool. Shred the chicken, discarding the skin and bones. Add the meat to the container of vegetables. Cover and refrigerate both containers overnight.

5. With a slotted spoon, skim off and discard the solidified fat on the top of the broth.

6. Tip the broth, chicken, and vegetables into a soup pot. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let the soup barely simmer for 5 minutes. Ladle into bowls with noodles, rice, or matzo balls, if you like. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.Sheryl Julian

Sheryl Julian can be reached at sheryl.julian@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @sheryljulian.

Work at Boston Globe Media