I know its been a while since I last posted a recipe (sorry Robbi!) but I’ve been running around, visiting home, being sick for Thanksgiving.  However, being sick affords one great thing.  Chicken Noodle Soup.  My mom makes a great Chicken Noodle Soup but I could never get it to come out quite like hers.  So in my quest I found what would become known as the World’s Greatest Chicken Noodle Soup.  This recipe has turned people with lifelong recipes into converts.  People who didn’t like soup into soup fanatics.  It could probably cure blindness, senility, arthritis, angina and a whole range of other afflictions if it wanted to.  In short, this is in fact, The World’s Greatest Chicken Noodle Soup!

 Its actually a Tyler Florence Recipe that I’d watched on Food 911 one day.  I thought to myself “Well, dude knows good food and that looks insanely good.”  So I tried it.  The sky opened and angels sang.  It rained calorie free chocolate truffles and I found the meaning of being a food snob.  Never again could I settle for Progresso, Campbell’s or even the gourmet chicken soups.  Regardless of how long it takes, if I’m in the mood for Chicken Soup, I have to make this recipe.  So join me in the love.  Make this recipe.  I beg you.

 First we start with with a package of cut up whole chicken.  When I’m home and have my huge stockpot I use a non-cut up whole chicken.  But since I’ve only got my 5 qt. with me, I can cram more in there if its already been cut up.  You could also save yourself the extra expense of pre-cut up chicken and 8th it yourself but my knives here aren’t that hot either.  So I spend the little extra and get it all cut up.  Sue me.  All in all you want about a 3 or 4 lb chicken.  This is a little over 4 but it was the smallest they had at the store.

Next I like to rinse it pretty well.  Because I want my chicken to have OCD too. *nod* Check out my manicure btw, prettyyyyyyyy!

Then pop those babies in the bottom of your desired soup pot.

Now I don’t measure much of the vegetables.  Tyler does but I just throw in about a handful of baby carrots. You could easily use regular size carrots but this way I don’t have to peel or chop them. Win-Win.

Next I add a few stalks of celery making sure to use the middle pieces with the leaves.  That’s where much of the celery-ey flavor is you know.  Take a guess who gave me that tidbit of info…

After that I quarter 2 white onions…

Then pop them in the pot skin and all.  The skin helps to give it that nice rich color.  Yum.

Now this is where the magic comes in.  Turnip.  I know you’re thing ZOMGAQT WHAT?  TURNIP?  Trust me, it gives the soup the most luxuriously rich flavor.  I’ve got about 3 very small purple turnips quartered but I’ve often used half of a large waxy turnip if its all that’s available.  I know they look a little grody in the photo but I washed them post cutting.  I swear I didn’t chuck them in dirt and all.  Scouts honor. Don’t cut off the stalk or root end either.  It’ll be fine.

Add it to the pan and now we get to the part where I might freak some of you out but take a whole head of garlic.  Not just one clove, the whole head.  Cut it in half width wise and add it to the pan.  I SWEAR IT WILL NOT MAKE IT SUPER GARLICKY!!!!  Don’t believe me?  Of all the people I’ve given this to not one of them has ever said “Wow!! there’s a lot of garlic in here!!!” Mom, you’ve had this soup can you vouch for me?

Add that sucker to the pan (again skin and all) and add a good bunch of fresh thyme.  You could use dried in a pinch but the fresh really makes a difference here. 

Add a good palmful of whole peppercorns.  You could scale this back if you’d like but it really adds a good flavor and isn’t too peppery. 

Getting close, add two or three bay leaves.

Now fill the pot with water. 

 

Enough so that everything is submerged but not too full so that it will be very very watery.  For the most part it should look like this.  Oh and I don’t add any salt at this point.  Especially if you’re going to be using this later for things that don’t involve soup.  This chicken stock is marvelous for any of your chicken stock needs.

Now put the lid on (make sure to leave it a little off kilter so the steam can escape) and let it simmer for about an hour and a half.  My mom used to skim as it went, but I’m lazy.  You could do the same as my mom but I’ll show you my trick later.  I like to take this time to do something productive like take a nap, read a book, watch a movie.  Okay, maybe its not that productive but I’m…uh….sick.  Yeah, I need my rest.  I’m feeling faint!  Oh, Scarlett, I need mah vapors!

Back?  Good.  Because in about an hour and a half it will look like this.

Look at that gloriously rich and dark stock.  At this point every time I have to restrain myself from drinking it straight out of the soup pot.  Yum. 

Make a special note to remove some of the garlic and put it to the side to cool.  That squishy deliciousness is now going to go into the actual soup.  But we’ll get back to that later.

Like ‘ol faithful.  My ever present kitchen helper arrives just in time for the chicken to come out.  Whining for TEH CHICKEN!!!!!  I CAN HAZZZZ!!!

Now to save me from scalding myself I like to scoop out the veggies and chicken with a spider like this.

You could use the veggies for any number of things.  Put them in a blender for a thick vegetable soup, feed them to the dog, populate your compost bin.  Regardless, other than the chicken, we won’t be needing any of the stock making veggies.  Once you’ve got them all pulled out, or as removed as best as you can. It should look like this and the volume will have probably reduced by half.

At this point I like to run it thru a strainer to catch any wayward peppercorns, thyme sprigs or veggies I may have missed and see, its a good thing!  Blast ye carrot and your battalion of peppercorns!  Trying to thwart my soup making!!  I need to stop reading medieval type novels while I make soup. 

 Check that out.  When we’re done skimming/separating we should have about 8 cups of glorious stock. 

So now I skim.  At home my little trick is to run all the stock thru a gravy strainer.  It ensures that you’ve skimmed 99% of the fat off. It takes a little time but I hate getting a greasy mouthful of soup.  Yuck.  However, I don’t  have a gravy strainer here in AL so I just skim with a huge spoon and do the best that I can.

Not too bad I’d say.  Close enough.

 

 Now you could always cook up the soup vegetables in oil but I like taking a few spoonfuls of stock and adding it to the pan.  This way the veggies braise instead of get all fried and brown.  Plus they absorb all that delicious chickeny goodness.

Add your desired veggies.  I know some people like adding onion but I don’t.  I add a few carrots diced and a few celery stalks diced.  If you want to add onions, by all means. 

Now, remember that garlic we set to the side.  It should be cooled by now.  Grab that baby and squeeze out a few cloves into the other vegetables.  It should be pretty gooey so they should slide out easily.  Add as much or as little as you like. The flesh of the garlic is what will make the soup garlicky or not.  Once its in I just poke at it with my spoon a little and it will break up easily and all but disintegrate into the soup. 

Add some salt and pepper.

One more bay leaf for good measure.

And some more fresh thyme.

 

Once the veggies are softened a little and the smell of thyme and bay is in the air take the rest of the stock and add it to the pot. 

 

After that crank the heat up to medium.

While that gets going I shred the chicken meat.  I usually use about 1 breasts worth.  If you prefer the dark meat go for it. 

I stash the rest in the fridge to use in other recipes during the week.  Quesadillas, Chicken Tetrazzini, Casseroles, on top of salads. 

Now a word about noodles.  Because she wins at life, my beautiful mom usually makes her noodles in salted boiling water, puts them in the bottom of the soup bowl and pours the chicken soup over them.  She does this so that the next day she can take the remainder of the chicken soup (sans noodles) and make Chicken and dumplings with it.  Ingenious idea.  We, however never seem to have any leftover.  This is a testament to two things, how much we love food and how good this soup is.  You could take my mom’s way or mine.  Its all up to you.  We like to use small noodles, ditalini’s or elbows.  You could use waggon wheels, egg noodles or whatever else floats your boat.  To make it my way, first salt the broth a little more and add your noodle of choice.

Now while the noodles simmer away at their as-labeled cooking time, I like to slice up a nice crunchy french baguette.  The other thing my mom taught me about soup and most anything in life for that matter: Almost anything is exponentially improved with a good piece of bread. 

Once the noodles are done pull out the bay leaf. 

Add the chicken to the soup and let it simmer for a minute or two to let the chicken warm thru.

Heaven help me.  Look at that gorgeous pot of soup.

Dish it into bowls and serve.   Of course, using the crunchy bread to sop up the delicious broth.

 Mother Mary.  Isn’t it amazing.  Not to mention that its even better the next day. 

Enjoy!