Chicken Spaghetti

Put 3-1/2 lb. hen (cut up) on to cook in enough water to 2/3 cover.

Tie the following seasonings in a square of cheese cloth:

• Salt and pepper
• 1 celery rib
• 1 quartered onion, small or medium
• bouquet of parsley
• 1 tbl. Comino (sometimes called cumin) seed
• 2 bay leaves

Cover and simmer slowly until chicken is tender - about 2 hours. Cool slightly and then place pot in refrigerator. The next morning skim off fat (reserving 1/2 cup); heat chicken in stock until barely warm then remove meat from bones: cut in rather large chunks and keep in refrigerator until needed. (I just take out chicken and put on platter to let it cool. Bone it when it is cool and get on with the next steps. )

Next, strain and measure stock. If there is not 2 quarts, add water to make it so. Then place in same pot to await spaghetti cooking time later.

Get your largest pot to make the sauce:

• 1/2 cup chicken fat (butter or oleo will do as well)
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-1/4 cups celery, chopped
• 1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup carrots, chopped (1 tsp. sugar can be used instead)
• 4 oz. can mushrooms "stems and pieces", well drained but save juice)

Sauté until tender.

Now add:

• 1 large can tomatoes (No. 2 can)
• 1 can tomato paste
• 2 tomato paste cans of water
• mushroom liquid (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper

Cover and simmer very slowly -- stirring occasionally -- for one to 1-1/2 hours; the longer the better. Check seasonings and see that tomato base of finished sauce is about the consistency of catsup.

This is the last lap. Have stock boiling rapidly then lower into liquid 1 lb. of long spaghetti, bending slowly as it steams limp. (Sometimes 1-1/2 lbs. of spaghetti can be used especially if you have lots of people to feed.)

Cook uncovered, separating with a fork, until firmly tender - 7 minutes - (Generally spaghetti is cooked in lots of boiling water and drained but not in this case.).

Last of all add tomato sauce and cooked chicken to spaghetti (and stock left in pan). Mix lightly, heat all together and serve - with grated Italian cheese, if you like. I always add 1 can of chopped black olives about this time and grate 1/2 lb. of cheese into the spaghetti. It makes it so rich but good! This is excellent reheated the next day and it freezes well. Makes 8 - 12 servings but you can feed more because it is so rich that a little goes a long way.