My friends from certain parts of Pennsylvania would call this “Chicken and Dumplings” but to me, and to most everyone I grew up with that’s a different dish altogether. This is chicken and noodles. It’s thicker than chicken noodle soup, and a staple of festivals, carnivals, town picnics, and state fairs – where there’s almost always a cart selling paper cups or bowls filled with the slippery noodles.
The key to the dish is the thick homemade noodles – and unlike most soup recipes, including the one in this book, they’re cooked in a roux thickened stock studded with vegetables and chopped chicken pieces. The end result is a thick stew of soft chewy noodles, vegetables that have flavored and soaked up the flavor and thickened the broth into a wholesome stew.
It’s a great meal on a cold winter night, or reheated, a filling lunch. The recipe is less complicated than it seems at first, and the results are totally worth it.
Chicken and Noodles
Course: Boneless, Dinner, Soup, Stew, Stove TopDifficulty: Easy4
servings30
minutes30
minutesIngredients
- Stew Base
2 boneless chicken thighs
4 cups chicken stock
1 carrot
2 ribs celery
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp AP flour
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
- Egg Noodles
2 cups AP flour
3 large eggs
¼ cup water
1 tsp kosher salt
Directions
- Prepare the noodle dough
- Add 2 cups of All Purpose flour, 1 tsp kosher salt, and 3 eggs to the bowl of a food processor or mixer.
- Process until incorporated.
- With the food processor or mixer running, slowly drizzle cold water into the mixture, until a smooth ball of dough forms.
- Wrap the dough in plastic and allow to rest 30 minutes.
- On a well-floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thickness and cut into 1 inch x 4 inch noodles. Toss with flour to prevent sticking and set aside.
- Poach the chicken
- Bring 4 cups of chicken stock to a simmer.
- Add the salt, thyme, and pepper.
- Poach the chicken thighs in the stock until just barely cooked through.
- Remove and set aside.
- Retain the stock.
- Once the chicken has cooled enough to handle, coarsely chop and set aside.
- Prepare the stew
- Peel, trim, and dice the carrot into ¼ inch dice.
- Peel trim and dice the onion into ¼ inch dice.
- Trim and slice the celery ribs.
- In a lidded pan over medium heat, melt 2 tbsp butter.
- Add 2 tbsp AP flour and cook until combined and the raw flour smell has disappeared.
- Add onions, celery, and carrot to the butter and flour mixture and cook over medium heat until the onion begins to look translucent.
- Add the reserved chicken stock from the poaching step.
- Bring to a low boil.
- Stir in the raw noodles and cook until the noodles are tender, and the sauce begins to thicken.
- Add the reserved chicken meat and allow to simmer 5 minutes.
- Taste and re-season with salt and pepper as needed.
- To serve, garnish with herbs, and or freshly diced celery, carrot, and onion.
Be sure to check out my other food project, The Weekly Menu!