To quote some internet wag with a quicker wit than mine: This week has been one hell of a year. Grocery stores have bare shelves, the news is frightening, and the whole world is basically holding its breath.
In uncertain times, I want something comforting and familiar. Something warm, satisfying, and not to difficult or time consuming to prepare.
These are the days when you just need soup. This chicken soup is simple, richly slicked with yellow fat, and if you have stock on hand, it only takes a few minutes to come together. If you’re stocking in – whether just out of caution, or because you need to – this soup freezes decently well. But even better, frozen stock and frozen chicken thighs and just a few minutes of work in the kitchen and you can have freshly made soup
The following recipe calls for premade noodles, but i’ve included a recipe for a quick homemade egg noodle that makes for a particularly hearty version.
Chicken Noodle Soup
Course: SoupCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy4
servings20
minutes30
minutes50
minutesA simple, easy to make, homestyle chicken noodle soup.
Ingredients
- Chicken Noodle Soup
2 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
4 cups chicken stock
1 carrot
2 ribs celery
1 bay leaf
2 cups cooked egg noodle
1 medium onion
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp kosher salt
- Easy Egg Noodles
1 cup AP Flour
2 Large Eggs
1/2 tsp Salt
Directions
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Peel, trim, and halve the onion.
- Peel and halve the carrot.
- Clean 1 rib of celery.
- Add ½ carrot, ½ onion, and 1 rib of celery, 1 bay leaf, and 1 sprig of thyme to a pot with chicken stock and two chicken thighs.
- Bring to a very low simmer and cook for 1 hour. Skim any scum that rises to the surface, but try not to remove too much fat – the yellow slick of chicken fat is one of the things that makes this soup really great.
- Slice the remaining ½ carrot, the remaining rib of celery, and dice the remaining ½ onion.
- Remove the chicken thighs and plunge them into cold water to stop them from cooking.
- Strain out the solids with a mesh strainer (optionally lined with several layers of cheesecloth or a flour sack towel if you want a particularly clear soup).
- Once the chicken has cooled enough to handle, remove and discard the skin. Remove and discard the bones and cartilage.
- Tear or cut the pieces into bite-sized bits.
- Return the chicken to stock, along with the fresh cut vegetables, and bring to simmer.
- Cook for 5 minutes, or just until the carrots begin to soften.
- Add the noodles and allow them to warm though. Serve in warmed bowls.
- Easy Egg Noodles
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt.
- Add eggs, and process until a dough forms.
- Allow the dough to rest for 1 hour.
- Dust the dough with flour and roll out to approximately 1/8 in thick and cut into noodles with a sharp knife.
- Cook for 2 minutes in rapidly boiling salted water.
- Drain, and use in soup
Be sure to check out my other food project, The Weekly Menu!