When you’ve got a sick spouse/child/friend/self, there really is nothing like having a homemade chicken soup. The key to this soup — as with any, really — is to make your own broth. We do so every six months or so, from chicken bones and vegetable scraps that we’ve frozen, plus some fresh chicken parts and aromatics.
My chicken stock recipe here is a little time consuming, so if you don’t want to bother with the clarification, then don’t. As long as you have some chicken, onions, carrots and celery in a pot, you’ve got the start of something great.
Chicken Noodle Soup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped
3 carrots, sliced into 1/4-inch discs
3 stalks celery, cut lengthwise in half, then chopped into crescents
2 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper
2 quarts homemade chicken stock
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, sliced into bite-sized pieces and seasoned with salt and pepper
1 pound egg noodles
Chopped dill, for garnish
Heat the oil over medium-high heat and add onions, carrot and celery. Use a garlic press to squeeze the cloves of garlic into the mixture. Add salt and pepper. Saute until the onion is translucent and the carrot and celery are slightly softened.
Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and add the chicken. Cook for about 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables have softened.
If you’re only making one or two servings, you may wish to cook the egg noodles separately, according to the package directions. If you have a lot of soup leftover, and you keep the noodles in the soup, they will soak up the liquid and leave you with bloated noodles and no soup.
If you are planning to serve the soup as a meal, first, bring the soup to a boil, then add the noodles and cook for about 7 minutes.
Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with chopped dill.
Makes 8 servings.
