on Feb 18th, 2008Chicken noodle soup
For me, few thing are homier on a cold winter day than a bowl of hot chicken noodle soup. It’s easy and quick to make and so adaptable to individual tastes or what’s on hand; canned soup just doesn’t compare.
I don’t think I’ve ever made chicken noodle soup exactly the same twice. A pinch of this, a bit of that. Maybe tortellini or matzoh balls instead of noodles. It’s always fine.
One constant, though, is part of this method, which I spotted in a pressure cooker recipe for this soup and which hadn’t occurred to me. Instead of simply adding chicken and letting it simmer, it’s sauteed a bit first, bringing a lot of flavor to the chicken and to the pot in the form of fond, the brown bits that stick to the bottom and are scraped up. It elevates the chicken beyond mere poaching, which always sounds so dreary.
Even though I have and love a pressure cooker, I do this on the stovetop. It only takes a few minutes longer, when you consider the time it takes for the cooker to reach full pressure, and the house smells heavenly while this simmers. If you’d like the pressure cooker version, it’s by Kuhn-Rikon, maker of very fine equipment, and you’ll find it here.
This freezes well and I like to keep a couple portions in the freezer in case I’m under the weather. It’s not called New York Penicillin for nothing.
Chicken Noodle Soup
Adapted from Kuhn-Rikon
Olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 -3 stalks of celery, sliced 1/4″ thick (about 1 cup)
2 carrots, uniformly sliced or chunked (about 1 cup) *
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast
6 cups (48 oz) low-sodium chicken broth, preferably organic
1 small bay leaf
1/4 - 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 handful chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, about 1/3 cup
2 -3 cups noodles (about 150g)
Salt and fresh-ground pepper
* I like the baby-sized carrots cut in half.
In a 5-quart Dutch oven or pot, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, celery and carrots. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Saute 3 -5 minutes until fragrant and taking on color.
Push aside the vegetables and add the chicken to the pot, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and let brown, about 2 minutes. Turn over, repeat on the other side. Carefully add about 1 cup of the broth and scrape up all brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the rest of the broth, the bay leaf, thyme and parsley and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 - 25 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
Transfer chicken to a cutting board. Add noodles to the pot and simmer 8 - 10 minutes, or according to the package, until noodles are almost but not quite done. Meanwhile, shred chicken or cut into chunks [I do both], add back to the pot for the final few minutes of cooking to heat through and to let the noodles finish.
Remove bay leaf, adjust salt and pepper if necessary and serve.
Serves 6
Ella’s note: Yolk-free noodles are really pasta and can be used. That’s what I used here.
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Great Recipe! I usually just use leftover cooked chicken, but your way sounds delicious!
The sauteeing makes such a difference. I don’t think I’ve ever used leftover chicken in soup, even though I love turkey carcass soup (with rice) after Thanksgiving. Chicken tends to go into omelettes and salads. I’ll have to try it sometime!
Yum. This is very nice. I’ve rekindled my love for chicken soup recently. There’s a authentic Mexican restaurant down the street from us who make the most delicious and warming version of chicken soup I’ve ever had. They actually replace the parsley with cilantro and they add chunks of potato instead of the noodle. All of the veggies remain slightly chewy (they must add them to cook only for the last 5-8 minutes so they retain a bit of their ‘give’ and don’t get soggy. I have yet to try to make it myself, but I think your recipe is a great one to try! I am getting ready for warm weather, though, instead of warm soup weather!! amy
Hi, Amy! You’re lucky to be able to think of warm weather. We are still entrenched in a harsh, long winter that began early. Right now, Spring is only a word in the dictionary.
The Mexican soup sounds interesting — except for cilantro, ew. A little of that goes a loooon way with me!