Chicken Noodle Soup
Who doesn’t LOVE chicken soup? Honestly, it’s probably one thing I crave most, either when the weather gets cool or I’m feeling slightly tired from work (aka cooking all the time). I often make a big batch, store a couple litres of the stock to use for cooking, and eat the rest throughout the week, adding in various items to bulk it up like kale, rice or soft boiled potatoes.
Chicken Soup
1 3-4lb grass fed chicken, cut into 6 pieces *
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped into 2-inch pieces
3 stalks celery, chopped into 2-inch pieces
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped into 2-inch pieces
2 yellow onions, washed, unpeeled and quartered
1-2 bay leaves- if fresh, use just one
Large Handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley with the stems
2 Tbsp kosher salt, plus more for taste
2 Tsp black peppercorns
cooked egg noodles, to serve
*Ask your butcher to break the chicken into pieces if you don’t want to, but be sure to get the entire carcass, you want the bones! Be sure to buy the best quality chicken you can find, this makes a huge difference in the flavour of the soup.
**Optional: If you have some fresh ginger, slice it and add to the pot
Method
1. Place the chicken pieces into a large pot with chopped carrots, celery and parsnip. Add the onions and cover completely with cold water.
2. Add large bunches of parsley as well as 1-2 bay leaves depending on size. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Bring to the boil, then simmer for about 2 hours, skim and discard the foam off the top for the first 30 minutes.
4. Strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve into a large clean pot. Pick out the carrot, celery, parsnip and onion slices without the skins, adding them back into the stock and discarding everything else. Allow the soup to cool completely. Then place in the fridge overnight.
5. Meanwhile, pull the chicken off the bones and keep it in a separate container in the fridge until ready to serve.
8. The next day, gently reheat the soup and add salt to adjust the seasoning. Serve with noodles and reserved chicken meat.