Kitchen Basics: Chicken Noodle Soup

The perfect soup to warm your belly on a cold night or soothe you when you're sick.

Stock:
1 white or yellow onion, chopped into a large dice
2 stalks celery, chopped into a large dice
2 carrots, chopped into a large dice
3 pound whole chicken, skin removed
1 gallon cold water
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon black peppercorns

Soup:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 carrots, cut into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
1 onion, diced fine
2 stalks celery, diced fine
4 ounces whole wheat pasta (cooked)
1 tsp thyme, dried
1/2 tsp oregano, dried
1 tsp basil, dried (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Remove the skin from the chicken.

Place the whole chicken in a large stock pot or saucepan that will hold at least one gallon of cold water.

Add the diced onion, celery, and carrots to the stock pot. Pour one gallon of cold water over the mixture and add the bay leaf and peppercorns. Bring the mixture to a boil and then immediately reduce to a simmer.

Allow the mixture to simmer for 45 minutes. Place a strainer over another large saucepan and strain the hot chicken mixture.

Strain the mixture a second time into the first pot using a coffee filter or cheesecloth. Reserve one quart of the stock for the freezer, and use the remaining for the soup. (Allow stock to cool to room temperature before freezing.)

In one of the stock pots, heat the oil and add the second batch of vegetables cut into the small dice. Sweat vegetables over low moderate heat for 5 to 8 minutes. While the vegetables are sweating, pull all the meat off the bones of the chicken.

Add the pasta, dried seasonings, and the pulled chicken meat to the pot simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
Recipe yields 3 quarts: 12 one cup servings