A big bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup just has a way of making us feel good, doesn’t it? I recently came down with strep throat and this was the best home remedy I could have asked for. I believe that chicken soup is an all season dish. No need to wait for the perfect weather conditions or even an illness to make it! This particular recipe has been passed down to me from my Grandma Grace through my Mama Mia. It makes the most satisfying and nourishing broth. I feel a little of their love every time I have a bowl of Grandma Grace’s Chicken Soup.
The Background
Where to begin? Chicken noodle soup has roots in many parts of the world. Many cultures have some form of chicken soup or chicken noodle soup. The first civilization to produce a chicken noodle soup was likely the Chinese culture in the 16th century. The Chinese version was made with ingredients like ginger that those in ‘western’ nations might not think of as being classic. The Jewish culture has produced a chicken soup that many of us might think of more immediately with “Chicken Soup”. My version actually includes tomatoes in the stock. I believe this was an addition by the Sicilian side of my Grandmother’s family. I found this site particularly interesting if you would like to learn more about the history of Chicken Noodle Soup.
The Method
Ingredient Notes
This recipe calls for a whole chicken which means this will be a collagen rich chicken broth based soup. When cold you can expect that this broth with have somewhat of a jelly texture which is a clear indication of collagen. You can use a whole chicken or about 4 pounds of bone in and skin on chicken pieces. I prefer to just plop the whole chicken in the pot.
This soup uses tomatoes and potato which are key to the unique and yet simple flavor that this soup has. Leeks are also used in this soup although I’ll often include or substitute completely with yellow onion, skins on for color. You’ll notice that herbs like thyme and dill are absent in this recipe. Feel free to add them if your heart desires, although I encourage you to try this version that offers simple, but comforting flavors.
Next, my family uses a unique noodle for this soup. It’s a small round noodle called Ancini De Pepe. It looks a lot like a smaller version of Israeli couscous. You may recognize it from Italian Wedding soup. If you aren’t familiar with this noodle I encourage you to try it out. The small noodle provides a fun texture to slurp down with the flavorful broth! As an alternative, stars, ditalini, or even orzo are also a good options here.
Lastly, I include a few optional ingredients that aren’t necessary and may not have been part of my Italian ancestor’s recipe. A parmesan rind is something I like to add for greater depth of flavor. I also like to add a little chicken bouillon to make the soup stretch a little farther. I use the “Better than Bouillon” brand, but you could use whatever you like. If you prefer to leave this ingredient out then boiling the soup down a bit for more concentrated flavor might be something to consider, but again is not necessary. This recipe makes a good deal of stock, so you could even freeze some for later use.
Process Notes
First, add your chicken to a stock pot and then make sure it’s covered by water by about two inches. This will likely be about 14 cups of water, but don’t stress. You can always add more later or boil it down a bit instead to get the right concentration of flavor. You’ll put the pot over a medium heat. Once the water starts to warm you’ll monitor the pot for the next 30 minutes or so, skimming off the foam that floats to the top. If you miss some of the foam now it’s ok, you’ll be straining the liquid later.
Once the foaming subsides you’ll add in your vegetables, herbs, and more water to cover if needed. Let everything simmer together for about an hour. This is when I prefer to pull out the chicken and remove the breast meat. I will return the rest of the meat and the bones to the pot and let it simmer for another hour. It’s not totally necessary to do this, but I think the breast meat tastes better this way.
Lastly, once this step is complete I remove the chicken and any vegetables that I want to save for my soup. I mostly end up discarding everything except the carrots. Next it’s time to strain the broth into another pot. I like using a strainer lined with reusable cheesecloth or a thin kitchen towel. After returning the broth to a clean pot, I add my parmesan rind, bouillon, and new vegetables and cook for about 30 minutes. I always check for seasoning at the end.
This delicious chicken noodle soup is the best served with a generous sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Yes, parmesan cheese, I told you this was an Italian recipe! The parmesan will stick to your spoon a bit. Pulling the cheese off your spoon is the best part! So delicious.
The Bottom Line
This is a wonderful Sunday night soup to make for a low key dinner. It’s great to have on hand for the rest of the week too! This nutrition rich broth will soothe you if you are ill, or just need something warm and comforting to eat. The broth is a collagen rich broth excellent for skin, joints and gut health. Follow it up with some Flourless Brownies with Salted Peanuts for some extra comfort. No matter your mood this recipe for Grandma Grace’s Chicken Soup will make you feel at least a bit better. Make this chicken noodle soup recipe tonight, or save it for the weekend, you can’t go wrong!
Grandma’s Chicken Noodle Soup
Equipment
- Stock Pot or large pot
- Cheesecloth or thin kitchen towel
- Mesh Skimming Ladle a large spoon is fine too
Ingredients
- 4 lbs Whole chicken or chicken pieces
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 whole potatoes, peeled russet or baking potatoes are best
- 2 tomatoes cut in half
- 4-5 celery stalks with leaves
- 4-5 carrots
- 3 leeks or 1 onion cut in thirds, or both!
- 1/4 bunch fresh parsley
- 1 cup Ancini di Pepe
- Salt to taste
- 1 parmesan rind optional
- 1 tbsp chicken bouillon / 1 cube optional
Instructions
- Put chicken in pot, fill with 10-12 cups cold water 2-3 inches above chicken. Place over medium heat.
- As foam appears use skimming ladle or spoon scoop out foam. Continue to do this for about 30 minutes or so.
- Add tablespoon of salt, bay leaves, 1 potato, 2 celery stalks with leaves, 2 carrots, leeks/onions, and the parsley. Squeeze each tomato half before adding to the pot. Make sure all is covered in water.
- Bring everything up to a boil, then lower heat to simmer. Put lid on pot but leave uncovered a little bit, turn heat to simmer about 2 hours.
- If desired, remove the breast meat after 1 hour of cooking.
- Once 2 hours has passed and chicken is done and veggies are soft, removed the remaining chicken. Set carrots aside if you wish to keep them.
- Strain liquid with a mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth. Wash pot out and return broth to the pot. (or strain into a clean pot) You may keep the carrots and other veggies if desired, I discard mine.
- Add in the new reserved carrots, potato, and celery cut in preferred shapes as you would like to serve them. Add in parmesan rind and bouillon if using. Make sure you taste for seasoning after the bouillon goes in. Add salt as needed. Simmer for another 20-30 minutes, or until veggies are soft.
- In a separate pot follow directions on Ancini di Pepe box or any other noodle you would like. When noodles are ready mix with broth.
- I like to put out my chicken and vegetables in a separate bowl so everyone can choose what they put in their bowls.
- Add chicken and vegetables to your bowl then top it off with grated Parmesan cheese.
- The melted parmesan cheese will stick to your spoon, this is the best part!