Chicken Noodle Soup as promised finally! Sorry for the delay! Writing recipes is a lot harder and more time-consuming than I thought. I’m learning this as I go.
This was made using the leftovers from the lovely Roasted Chicken recipe I shared. I advised keeping the bones as well as of course any leftover meat so we could repurpose it into a cozy, hot, nutritious bowl of soup that is perfect for a chilly day.
If you didn’t roast your own chicken or are short on time, no worries. This recipe works perfectly fine with a Rotisserie Chicken from your local supermarket. Pull the meat off the bones and set it aside to use later on.
Being able to make this for yourself or others when feeling under the weather is an act of love!
I’m going to teach you how to create a delicious, savory broth so you can use it as the base for our soup or even use it for sauces! While you can just buy the boxed stuff (nothing wrong with that), trust me this will change your mind! Plus, if you make a Roasted Chicken, why not get the most out of it?
I’d say try it at least once and you be the judge. The proof is in the pudding.
The broth is a great way to decrease waste in our homes. Throw veggie scraps, stems, peels, and flavor it with other aromatics like garlic, ginger, green onion, etc. The recipe I‘m sharing will provide that classic chicken noodle soup flavor but switch it up to your liking. And don’t worry if you don’t have bay leaves, peppercorns, or dried shiitake mushrooms, this works perfectly without them.
Making soup comes with many lessons. Think less about what you don’t have and more about what you do.
Ingredients
For the Chicken Broth
1 Roasted Chicken or Rotisserie Chicken carcass
2 medium-large Carrots, tops removed and washed
2 stalks of Celery, bottoms removed and washed
1 large or 2 medium Onions, root removed and skin on
2 Bay Leaves
Palm full of Peppercorns
Whole herbs, stems (I used Rosemary, Sage, Parsley, Thyme)
5-6 Dried Shiitake Mushrooms
Enough Water to fill your pot
For the Soup (Check links for how-to Creds to Kenji Lopez Alt)
1/2 box of Pasta of Choice (Ex: Orzo, Egg Noodle, Ditalini, etc)
A mix of White and Dark meat of Roasted Chicken, cubed
2 Medium Carrots, chopped into rough cubes
1 Celery Stalk, chopped into rough cubes
1/2 Medium Onion, sliced thinly
A handful of Parsley, chopped roughly
Salt and Pepper, Taste
Directions
For the Chicken Broth
Grab the largest pot you have and place your Roasted Chicken or Rotisserie Chicken carcass inside.
Roughly chop/chunk the first amount of onions(leave skins on for color just cust off the roots), celery(the white part near roots removed and rinsed), carrots(tops removed and rinsed). (Note: this doesn’t have to be perfect. This will all get strained later.) Add to your pot.
Add herbs, dry mushrooms, peppercorns, and bay leaves.
Cover in cold water
Bring to a boil(lots of quickly popping large bubbles) over medium-high heat. Should take about 15 minutes.
Once at a boil, reduce heat to low, cover with a lid, and simmer(little bubbles rolling across the surface for at least 45 minutes-1 hour. (You can go much longer, depending on how much time you have in order to develop a deeper flavor). While simmering prep the rest of the vegetables and parsley that will go into the final soup.
Carefully strain the broth into a separate pot that can support all the liquid. Discard solids. Set broth aside while you cook your pasta.
Once strained. Add 2 -3 pinches of salt and several cracks of black pepper.
Putting the Soup Together
Cook pasta of choice to 3 minutes shy of being done. It will continue to cook in the hot broth and you don’t want mushy pasta. Set aside.
Bring the broth back to a boil over medium heat. Add diced vegetables. Cover and let cook for about 5 minutes till vegetables are tender but not falling apart.
Add cooked pasta. Stir to combine.
Add reserved chicken meat. Stir to combine.
Add parsley. Stir to combine.
Taste and adjust for seasoning again.
Serve and enjoy!
I really hope you enjoy this recipe. And although I’m sure it’s far from perfect and I’m more than happy to share my imperfect recipes. To know just 1 person might reference my recipe one day is a privilege and honor.
If you have any feedback, I’d love to hear from you. What could I do differently for you? Shoot me an email to @athoughtfullsandwich@gmail.com or