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I am searching for a great Chicken Noodle Soup recipe. My friend was recently diagnosed with lymphoma and feeling really miserable. I plan to make him a few meals. Any suggestions are welcomed. There are soooo many recipes available but I wanted to know your favorite. Thanks so much!

Lu

I don't think I have ever used a recipe for chicken soup... I do like to make the Italian version of chicken noodle, wedding soup (don't have a recipe for that either, I try to channel my grandma). It is a nice soup because it is gentle but still packed with lots of good stuff. I make a chicken stock with the pressure cooker (I do a whole chicken for about 15 minutes, remove the meat and then do the bones for 15 minutes more), add the meat to to the drained stock, make little meatballs with veal, garlic, parsley and basil, cut up some endive in it, mix beaten egg with Parmesan cheese and swirl that in and serve with some kind of tiny pasta. That is comfort food to me...

Mary

PS What I really meant to say that I hope your friend does well, she is lucky she has someone like you to help take care of her. That is more comforting than chicken soup.

Somewhere close by, maybe on YouTube, is a video of Jack Bishop stating something to the effect that wherever a recipe can be posted, America's Test Kitchen will be posting them. In my effort to help Jack achieve his goal of pasting up a Cook's Illustrated recipe anywhere there is room......

Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup

Makes about 3 quarts, serving 6 to 8. "Adapted" From Cook's Illustrated
Published March 1, 1996.


Why this recipe works:

For a full-flavored chicken soup recipe that could be made in less than 90 minutes, we borrowed an idea from an Edna Lewis recipe, beginning by sautéing a chicken, minus the breast (which we used later as meat for the soup), hacked into small pieces, rather than by simmering chicken bones, aromatic vegetables, and herbs for hours. The pot was then covered and the chicken and onion cooked over low heat until they released their rich, flavorful juices, 15 to 20 minutes. Only at that point was water added, and the broth was simmered just 20 minutes longer. Cutting the chicken into small pieces was the most difficult step in this quick chicken soup recipe. A meat cleaver, a heavy-duty chef's knife, or a pair of heavy-duty kitchen shears made the task fairly simple.


Ingredients

1tablespoon vegetable oil
1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds), breast removed and split, remaining chicken cut into 2-inch pieces
2 medium onions , cut into medium dice
2quarts boiling water
Table salt
2 bay leaves
1 large carrot , peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1medium rib celery , sliced 1/4-inch thick
1/4teaspoon dried thyme
2cups egg noodles (3 ounces), preferably wide
1/4cup minced fresh parsley leaves
Ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Heat oil in large soup kettle. When oil shimmers and starts to smoke, add chicken breast halves; sauté until brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside. Add half of chopped onions to kettle; sauté until colored and softened slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl; set aside. Add half of chicken pieces; sauté until no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl with onions. Sauté remaining chicken pieces. Return onions and chicken pieces (excluding breasts) to kettle. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until chicken releases its juices, about 20 minutes. Increase heat to high; add boiling water along with both breast halves, 2 teaspoons salt, and bay leaves. Return to simmer, then cover and barely simmer until chicken breasts are cooked and broth is rich and flavorful, about 20 minutes.

2. Remove chicken breasts from kettle; set aside. When cool enough to handle, remove skin from breasts, then remove meat from bones and shred into bite-size pieces; discard skin and bone. Strain broth; discard bones. Skim fat from broth, reserving 2 tablespoons. (Broth and meat can be covered and refrigerated up to 2 days.)

3. Return soup kettle to medium-high heat. Add reserved chicken fat. Add remaining onions, along with carrot and celery; sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add thyme, along with broth and chicken; simmer until vegetables are tender and flavors meld, 10 to 15 minutes. Add noodles and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings, stir in parsley, and serve


.

Italian Wedding Soup

Serves 4 to 6. Published March 1, 2012. "Adapted" From Cook's Illustrated.
Why this recipe works:

Traditionally, this Italian soup is built from a base of meaty brodo, a long-cooked broth made from the bones of meat and fowl. Wanting to skip the fuss of cooking a brodo all day, we looked to fortify commercial broths. We first started with a combination of chicken and beef broth, which mimicked the flavor of brodo. Into these broths we simmered a small amount of ground beef and pork to heighten the savory flavor. To further boost the meaty flavor, we added umami-rich porcini mushrooms and Worcestershire sauce.



Use a rasp-style grater to process the onion and garlic for the meatballs. Tubettini or orzo can be used in place of the ditalini.


Ingredients

Broth
1 onion , chopped
1 fennel bulb , stalks discarded, bulb halved, cored, and chopped
4 garlic cloves , peeled and smashed
1/4ounce dried porcini mushrooms , rinsed
4ounces ground pork
4ounces 85 percent lean ground beef
1 bay leaf
1/2cup dry white wine
1tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
4cups low-sodium chicken broth
2cups beef broth
2cups water
Meatballs
1slice hearty white sandwich bread , crusts removed, torn into 1-inch pieces
5tablespoons heavy cream
1/4cup grated Parmesan cheese
4teaspoons finely grated onion
1/2teaspoon finely grated garlic
Salt and pepper
6ounces ground pork
1teaspoon baking powder
6ounces 85 percent lean ground beef
2teaspoons minced fresh oregano
1cup ditalini pasta
12ounces kale , stemmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (6 cups)

Instructions

1. FOR THE BROTH: Heat onion, fennel, garlic, porcini, pork, beef, and bay leaf in Dutch oven over medium-high heat; cook, stirring frequently, until meats are no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add wine and Worcestershire; cook for 1 minute. Add chicken broth, beef broth, and water; bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
2. FOR THE MEATBALLS: While broth simmers, combine bread, cream, Parmesan, onion, garlic, and pepper to taste in bowl; using fork, mash mixture to uniform paste. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat pork, baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt on high speed until smooth and pale, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Add bread mixture, beef, and oregano; mix on medium-low speed until just incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Using moistened hands, form heaping teaspoons of meat mixture into smooth, round meatballs; you should have 30 to 35 meatballs. Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day.
3. Strain broth through fine-mesh strainer set over large bowl or container, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Wipe out Dutch oven and return broth to pot. (Broth can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Skim off fat before reheating.)
4. Return broth to simmer over medium-high heat. Add pasta and kale; cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add meatballs; return to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until meatballs are cooked through and pasta is tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

I don't use a recipe either, but do what my mother used to do.
I try to get an old chicken (broiler rather than a fryer). In a stock pot, I put a whole onion (leave the skin on as it imparts a nice golden color to the soup), a few ribs of celery, about 4 carrots peeled and cut into 2 inch lengths, a few sprigs of parsley and a sprig of sage, two whole cloves of garlic, salt to taste and about a tablespoon of peppercorns.
I cover the chicken with water and add a quart of chicken stock (homemade preferably). Cover and let simmer for a few hours....keep tasting and add salt if needed. Cook until the broth has a richness and depth of chicken flavor (it all depends on the chicken...this could take 3-4 hours).
Remove the chicken, herbs and veggies, reserving the carrots. Strain the broth and take off as much of the fat as you can. Slice the carrots into bite sized pieces and put in the broth. Remove skin from chicken and shred as much as you want into the broth. I usually pick the dark meat and save the breasts for sandwiches and salads.
Prepare wide egg noodles and add to the broth.....and you have chicken noodle soup....Jewish penicillin!
Ilene

Mine is similar to Ilene's, but I add barley, lentils and rice to the de-fatted broth and cook an extra 45 or so minutes. I add all of the meat back after the grains are cooked. It becomes more of a chicken stew which I love. I even add noodles to this sometimes. Salt and pepper are added by each person to their bowl.
Nancy

Mine is also similar to Ilene's although I don't use a whole chicken, just parts, and always add dill along with the parsley. The produce department of my supermarket packages a soup greens mix which includes parsnip, rutabaga, carrot, celery, dill, parsley and onion. I always add more sliced carrot and celery after the soup has cooked down and I've removed all the base ingredients. We like a lot of veggies in our chicken soup.
Nance (the "other" Nance )

Thanks so much for all your suggestions and recipes!

Lu

My friend was so thankful for a home cooked meal...chicken soup and cheesebread...

Lu

Beautifully done Lu....I have the sniffles, but unfortunately, you are too far away.
Ilene

That looks great Lu, almost makes me wish I had a cold and such a generous friend.

Mary