I've been in the mood for soups lately. Unfortunately you can't tell as I've only posted a handful of recipes. Fortunately for you the list will expand, and you'll see that my soup recipes take up a hefty proportion! Maybe it's the unpredictable English weather that wavers from sunny and warm to drizzly and numbing. Or maybe it's just because
soup is AWESOME.
One of my favorites, and the easiest to make, is Chicken Noodle Soup. Growing up with non-Western parents, I didn't grow up eating this when sick. So the first time I made it, I played around and came up with a chicken noodle soup heartier than I imagined. I made two versions. The first, and my favorite, one is posted below. The second followed the same recipe, except I did not have celery and added spinach instead. The spinach dulled the flavor a bit, but the soup was still amazing. For the extra nutritional bonus, I'm definitely keeping it in future recipes but perhaps in smaller doses.
Loaded with lean protein (if you use chicken breast) and vitamins and minerals from all of vegetables, the soup is also very low in fat. Just google the nutritional values of the sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, garlic and onions, and you'll see why this soup is a winner, especially if you're under the weather. I teamed it up with orange juice for good measure, the first time. I particularly love adding sweet potatoes (or yams). It's untraditional but adds a nice creamy sweetness to the broth and infinitely more flavorful than regular potatoes. I would just skip regular potatoes if you don't have sweet potatoes. But it's up to you!
Note that I never follow a precise recipe for this soup. I generally throw in whatever I have and add or subtract based on how it tastes. You really can't go wrong with a broth-based soup. Preparation and cooking time are about 1-1.5 hours, depending on how quick you are. Yum!
(Soup with orange juice. Double the power...)
(Soup with spinach experiment)
Chicken Noodle Soup (Services 6-8)
- Diced Chicken Breast or Thigh (3-4 cups or about 4-5 breasts)
- 1-1.5 Large Carrots, diced
- 2 Stalks of Celery, diced
- 2 Sweet Potatoes, skinned and diced
- 1 Large Onion, diced
- 3-4 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 6-8 cups of chicken stock (add water to flavor to your liking)
- Salt and Pepper to your liking (optional, I don't add any)
- 2 tspn Thyme
- 1-2 tspn Ground Ginger (or use 1 TB fresh ginger preferably)
- 2-3 cups Egg Noodles, Linguine, or Pasta (your preference)
1. If you are using stock cubes, then add 450ml of boiling water to each cube. I use 4 cubes to make this soup. If you are using broth, bring all of it to a boil. Add thyme, ginger, garlic and onions. Let it boil for a minute or two so all the flavors are incorporated into the broth.
2. Add everything else, except for the noodles. Reduce to a simmer. Allow to cook for 35-40 minutes until chicken is cooked all the way through and potatoes are soft. (If you are using spinach, add it in the last 10 minutes. Let it wilt all the way and turn a dark green.)
3. Add your choice of noodles. Cook it in the soup for as long as the package instructs. When I used fusilli, I cooked it for 10 minutes in simmering soup.
4. Add any salt, pepper, or herbs to your liking. Once you see that the chicken is cooked all the way, the vegetables practically melt in your mouth, and the noodles are well cooked (I would recommend soft noodles, not al dente).... Enjoy!
UPDATE: The soup tastes every better the next day. If I had kids, this would be a great way to get them to eat their spinach. I simply added spinach to the soup and simmered it until the leaves became wilted and soft and dark green. Delicious. And healthy!
