Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken noodle soup is an all time winter favourite! Actually, as long as it cools down just a little and you’re feeling like a good dose of ‘homey’ food, then this is the go to option. Most things we make at home have to be achievable within a 45 – 60 minute timeframe. Unfortunately chicken noodle soup doesn’t fall into this category because you have to make the stock and cook the chicken and let it cool (to make skimming the fat off the top easy). The final phase of putting it all together only takes 15 minutes, so although the process is long, it is incremental. Ideally allow a couple of hours for the stock to cool. The alternative would be to use store bought stock, shred a store bought BBQ chicken, and throw in some veges and pasta – whole process 15 minutes. Not nearly as good, but whatever works…

Chicken Noodle Soup

 

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Serves: 6

The Soup

• 1.5 litres chicken stock, below
• 1 parsnip, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 250g pappardelle
• shredded chicken (from making the stock below)
• sea salt
• pepper
• chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, to serve

Chicken Stock

• 1 x 1.5kg chicken
• small handful fresh parsley
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

1. Prepare the chicken stock and chicken (see below).
2. Put the chicken stock in a saucepan over a high heat. Add the vegetables and cook for about 10 minutes, until they are just tender.
3. Add the pasta and cook for another 5 minutes (or until al dente), adding the shredded chicken for the last minute to heat through. Season with salt and pepper and scatter with parsley to serve.

Chicken Stock:

1. Rinse the chicken inside and out and pat dry. Put the chicken in a stockpot with the rest of the ingredients and 2.5 litres of cold water. Bring almost to boiling point, then reduce the heat to low and keep the stock at a steady simmer for 1½ hours, skimming any froth from the surface after the first 5 - 10 minutes.
2. Lift out the chicken and strain the stock to get rid of the herbs and vegetables. Place the stock in the fridge to cool.
3. Once cool skim any fat from the top of the stock. Let the chicken cool slightly, then discard the skin and shred the meat.

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