How to make Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken noodle soup may not be a genuine American recipe but it goes in that category for me because I just can’t think of it as anything else. Genuine hodge podge is about right I think. Perhaps it’s a Jewish recipe, perhaps it’s an Eastern European recipe, who knows? Either way, I give credit to the people of the USA for this one. Accordingly, there are thousands of different ways to make this soup, but here is my own personal favorite. This is a really easy recipe, but it no five minute one. You need at least half a day to do this – but most of the time is spent not doing anything other than watching the pot simmer.

Don’t bother buying a young, expensive chicken for this, an older, fryer will do just fine.

You will need:

• A large stock pot with a lid
• A sharp knife
• A cutting board
• A bowl
• Patience

Ingredients:

• 1 Whole Fryer Chicken
• 4 cups of chicken stock
• 6 cups of water
• 5 cloves garlic
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 3 teaspoons ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 white onion, sliced
• 1/2 lb carrots, sliced
• ¼ lb celery, chopped
• 1/2 lb dried pasta (spaghetti, fettuccine, linguine or anything else in the cupboard)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• A handful of fresh herbs or sliced green onions( either parsley, thyme, oregano or basil) for garnish

Place the chicken in the stock pot and cover with 4 cups of water. Depending on the size of the pot, you may need to cut the chicken into pieces. No matter either way. If you need to add a little extra water to cover the chicken, that’s OK too. Boil the chicken for 3 hours, until the meat starts to come off the bone. Now, remove the chicken, strip all the meat off the bones and put in a bowl. Set aside. Return the carcass and cook for a further 2 hours, skimming any fat off the top. The water should have reduced by about ½ by now. Remove the carcass and throw away. Add 4 cups chicken stock to the pot. Shred the chicken pieces and add. ( I never used to add chicken stock, but I am finding many chickens nowadays have very little flavor in the carcass.) Add the salt, pepper, paprika and vegetables. Cook for another hour. Bring back to a rolling boil, break up the pasta and throw in for the last ten minutes of cooking. You can add rice instead if you prefer at this point, just add it a little sooner. Beat the eggs in another bowl and add to the soup just before the cooking is done. Serve hot with fresh chopped herbs scattered over and fresh hot bread on the side.

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There are no hard and fast rules for this. If your family likes mushrooms and hates celery, don’t add the celery, just throw in some fried mushrooms towards the end of the cooking time.

And little did I know, there’s a silly song and dance made for this recipe, so here it is.

Bon Apetit!