And why a recipe for old fashioned chicken noodle soup you might ask? Because I believe that periodically everyone needs and deserves a taste of love. And if homemade chicken noodle soup doesn’t taste like love, I don’t know what does! As my grandfather used to say, “chicken noodle soup is good for what ails you!” Grandpa never defined what “what ails you” meant, but as I’ve gotten older, I think I know. What ails you – anything from stiff joints, a bad cold, a rotten day at work, teenagers, an invitation to the wedding of the daughter or son of a person you work with, whom incidentally you have never met. (The child that is!) And of course at this point, please feel free to add your own definition of the things you classify as “what ails you”.
Now I know, I love new-fangled variations of chicken soup as much as the next gal. But when what I need is a soothing, not spicy, healthy, like my grandma used to make kind of soup, I follow this recipe. (And yes, I do follow my own recipes. That way I don’t have to think. The older I get, the more I have begun to appreciate not always having to think! Sometimes I just like to let the auto-pilot function in my brain take over. So using my own recipes is my equivalent of putting my mind on auto-pilot or cruise control. But don’t fear. I get a lot of thinking done while I am working on new recipes!)
So next time you feel a cold coming on, or your teenagers are driving you to distraction, distract yourself by making a big old batch of this soup. After all, even if chicken noodle soup doesn’t solve the world’s problems, it does make them easier to take. (At least for a little while.)
- 1 T. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 split fryer, cut into sections (or any other pieces of bone-in chicken)*
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 carrots, thinly sliced
- 2 celery stalks, including leaves, thinly sliced
- 1 leek, thoroughly washed, chopped (all the white and part of the green) or 1 med. onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 qt. chicken stock
- 2 c. dry egg noodles (the wider and thicker the better), cooked al dente
- 2 T. chopped fresh parsley
- 4-6 green onions, thinly sliced
Pour the olive oil into a large covered soup pot.
Liberally sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil and fry the chicken until the skin is golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside. Add the carrots, celery, and leek; sauté for about 5 minutes. Do not let any of the veggies start to brown. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for 1 minute. Add the bay leaf, a small amount of salt, pepper, chicken stock, and browned chicken. Bring the soup to just under a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked through. (Do not overcook the chicken!) Remove the chicken pieces and set aside to cool. Meanwhile continue to let the soup burble away. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones. Cut the meat into bite sized pieces. Return to the pot and add the cooked noodles and parsley. Bring just to a boil and adjust seasoning. Remove bay leaf and serve in individual bowls topped with green onions.
*If you prefer, add 2 cups of boneless, skinless chicken cut into cubes (raw or previously cooked). If using raw chicken, add when the carrots are tender. Cook the chicken just until it is done. Add cooked noodles and parsley. Bring to a boil and adjust seasoning. Serve topped with green onions.
If you are using already cooked chicken, add it along with the cooked noodles and parsley.