Soup Essentials The Ultimate Chicken Noodle Soup Recipes

Steps:

• Pat chicken dry with paper towels; sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a 6-qt. stockpot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken in batches, skin side down; cook until dark golden brown, 3-4 minutes. Remove chicken from pan; remove and discard skin. Discard drippings, reserving 2 tablespoons., Add onion to drippings; cook and stir over medium-high heat until tender, 4-5 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add broth, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan. Bring to a boil. Return chicken to pan. Add celery, carrots, bay leaves and thyme. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until chicken is tender, 25-30 minutes., Transfer chicken to a plate. Remove soup from heat. Add noodles; let stand, covered, until noodles are tender, 20-22 minutes., Meanwhile, when chicken is cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones; discard bones. Shred meat into bite-sized pieces. Return meat to stockpot. Stir in parsley and lemon juice. If desired, adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper. Discard bay leaves.

Steps:

• Add 3 of the carrots, 3 stalks of the celery, half the onion, the chicken, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme and bay leaf to a large stock pot. Separate the parsley leaves from the stems and reserve the leaves. Add the stems to the pot. Cover with 3 quarts water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until the broth is golden and the chicken is cooked through, 40 to 50 minutes.
• Use tongs to remove the chicken from the pot and put in a large bowl to cool. Strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl or other container. Discard the solids. Wipe out the stockpot and pour the strained broth back into the pot.
• Cut the remaining 2 carrots diagonally into 1/4-slices. Cut the remaining 2 celery stalks into 1/2-inch slices. Dice the remaining half of the onion. Add the cut vegetables to the stock and simmer until tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
• While the vegetables are cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the noodles until al dente, about 5 minutes, then drain and reserve.
• When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and tear the meat into bite-size pieces. Discard the bones and skin. Add the meat back to the pot along with the cooked noodles. Chop the reserved parsley leaves and add to the pot. Season with 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons salt and some pepper and bring to a simmer to reheat.

Steps:

• In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high. Add the chicken, season generously with salt and pepper, and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until starting to crumble, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, coriander and celery seeds (if using), and cook, stirring frequently, until chicken is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, scoop the chicken into a small lidded bowl (to retain moisture); cover and set aside.
• Add the carrot, celery, shallot, thyme and the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the pot, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until slicked with fat, 3 minutes. Add the stock (7 cups for a stew-like soup or up to 8 cups for a brothy soup) and bring to a boil over high.
• Add noodles and cook over medium-high until al dente according to package directions. (If the noodles absorb a lot of liquid, add more broth according to taste.) Add the reserved chicken and any accumulated juices and heat until warmed, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide among bowls; top with a spoonful of crème fraîche, a fistful of torn herbs and lemon zest.

Steps:

• Peel carrots and add peels to a Dutch oven or other large pot. Trim off ends and leafy tops from celery; add to the pot. Trim dark green stalks from leek; rinse. Cut into 2-inch pieces and place into the pot; add bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Smash and peel 2 garlic cloves and add to the pot.
• Finely chop the light green and white parts of the leek; rinse and set aside in a medium bowl. Slice carrots into small pieces and add to the bowl. Slice celery on the bias and combine with the carrots and leeks. Mince remaining garlic; set aside separately.
• Cut away the skin from the chicken breast; set aside. Place chicken in the pot with the vegetable trimmings and pour in broth to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken reads at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), 30 to 40 minutes.
• Remove chicken; discard skin. Wrap chicken to prevent it from drying out. Strain broth and discard vegetable trimmings.
• Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat; cook chicken skin until lightly crisp and fat has rendered out, about 8 minutes. Remove skin and increase heat to medium-high. Add reserved chopped vegetables; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Add minced garlic and thyme; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Pour in strained broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.
• In the meantime, bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook egg noodles at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, 7 to 9 minutes. Drain.
• Season broth with salt and pepper. Stir in lemon juice; taste and adjust as needed. Stir in shredded chicken and cook until warmed through, about 2 minutes.
• Scoop egg noodles into serving bowls and pour soup on top; garnish with parsley. Serve hot.

Steps:

• For the soup:
• Set a large stock pot over medium heat. Add olive oil, half the garlic, carrot, onion, celery, bay leaf, and thyme and gently saute until fragrant, about 5 to 7 minutes. Pour in chicken broth, add parsley stems, black peppercorns and salt, to taste. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer while you work on meatballs and tortellini.
• For the meatballs:
• Caramelize the diced onion in a saute pan with a little olive oil over medium heat. Add the sausage, egg, onion, thyme, parsley, and cheese to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until they all come together. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet with a few tablespoons of olive oil until just smoking. Use a small ice cream scoop to drop meatballs onto skillet. Cook, turning, until golden brown.
• Drop tortellini straight from freezer into soup. Cook until they float. Once meatballs are browned, add to pot of chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 or 3 minutes. Give soup a final seasoning and serve in shallow bowls with a small shower of Parmesan, olive oil, and parsley.

Steps:

• PREP/PREPARE
• Gather your Ingredients (mise en place)
• Place the chicken in a large pot, cover with water, add a pinch of salt, and set the heat to medium high.
• Allow the pot to come to the boil, and skim of the congealed foam that rises to the top, about 15 minutes of skimming.
• Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook the chicken until it becomes tender, about 75 - 80 minutes.
• Remove the chicken from the pot and allow to cool down.
• When it is cool enough remove all the chicken from the bones, and discard the skin; but reserve the bones.
• Add the bones back into the liquid and lightly simmer, covered for an additional 60 minutes.
• After 60 minutes remove all the bones.
• Chef's Tip: The reason we are removing the bones from the liquid is because this is a shredded chicken soup, and if you leave the carcass in until the end, when you attempt to remove it, all the shredded chicken will cling to the carcass... I speak from experience.
• Be careful to remove ALL the bones, sometimes little tiny pieces can come off the carcass, and get missed, and we don't want our guests choking on a chicken bone. I will usually pass the liquid through a strainer... just to be sure.
• Chef's Note: You are now at the crossroads. Since we still have a bit of cooking time left, you have a choice to make. You can continue with the recipe, or you can stop here, refrigerate the liquid, and the chicken, and finish this dish the next day... Up to you.
• Chef's Note: If you are choosing to refrigerate, then when you take the liquid out of the fridge, remove the congealed fat that is on the surface. If you are continuing with the recipe, then use a small spoon to remove some of the liquid fat that will rise to the top. But don't take it all away... A little fat is good for flavor.
• STAGE TWO
• Return the liquid to a burner over medium-high heat.
• Add the chicken back into the liquid, along with the bay leaves, thyme, salt, pepper, and parsley, and slowly bring to the boil.
• Chef's Note: Don't bother to cut up the chicken, it will shred naturally, during the cooking process.
• Reduce to a slow simmer, and allow to cook covered for about 60 minutes.
• Chef's Note: Every 10 minutes, or so, remove the cover, and give the soup a stir.
• After the cooking process has been going on for 30 minutes, uncover and add the chopped onions. Cover, and then resume the last 30 minutes of cooking.
• After 60 minutes, add the remaining veggies, and continue to cook covered, for an additional 30 - 40 minutes, or until the veggies have achieved the desired tenderness.
• Chef's Note: As before, give it a stir about every 10 minutes.
• Chef's Note: If you are adding homemade egg noodles, then add them about 10 minutes before the end of the cooking process.
• Chef's Tip: This soup freezes quite well, but not with any noodles. If you freeze this soup with noodles, when you reheat it, the noodles will come out as mush. I hate it when that happens.
• At the end of the process, remove the bay leaves, do a final check for proper seasoning, and add a bit more salt and/or pepper, if needed.
• PLATE/PRESENT
• Bring the pot to the table, stick in a ladle, and let your guests dish up their own portions. That's called serving it up rustic, or "family" style. Or, you could choose to put it into some nice homey bowls, but don't forget the bread and/or some nice crackers. Enjoy.
• Keep the faith, and keep cooking.