Chicken Noodle Soup –Not my Grandmother’s recipe

     I remember when I was young, and I was not feeling well, my mother would always come to my room with a hot cup of chicken noodle soup. This is a practice handed down to her by her mother. The idea behind this gesture was that chicken soup had some magical and medicinal quality that would not only comfort you it would make you feel better. I think probably most everyone has had this experience. It is a tradition that has been passed down from mother to child for generations. As it turns out chicken noodle soup, while rich in vitamins and minerals also contains anti inflammatory properties that reduce congestion in the upper respiratory system.

     My wife was feeling under the weather recently and I thought “what could I do to make her feel better?”. The answer was that I would make Chicken noodle soup for her. While I didn’t have an age old recipe to fall back on ( my mother always just heated up a can of Campbell’s) I had made chicken noodle soup enough to be comfortable taking a shot at it without falling back on someone else’s recipe. The soup turned out so well that I had to make a fresh batch the very next day because we had eaten it all. This recipe is very quick and easy and only take about 1 1/2 hours from start to finish.

I present to you now my version of chicken noodle soup.

Chicken Noodle Soup

 

1 medium onion, diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

2 carrots, diced

1 teaspoon of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning

2 medium boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked and diced

64 oz low sodium chicken broth

1/2 packet of unflavored gelatin (available in every supermarket)

6 oz dry egg noodles, cook these in some boiling water and then cool under cold water. These will go into the soup last

 

 

Sauté the Onion, Carrot and celery in a large pot. Add garlic and Italian seasoning after 3 minutes. sauté for 1 minute longer.

Add the Chicken broth, reserving 1/2 cup, and simmer for 1 hour.

Sprinkle gelatin on reserved chicken broth. let sit for 5 minute to “bloom”.

Add Chicken meat and reserved broth/gelatin mix.First bring soup to a boil and the reduce it to a simmer for 15 minutes more.

During the last 5 minutes add the cooked egg noodles.

 

Could I have made my own stock for this? Well, yes I could have, but the process would have been much longer. I wanted something quick, easy and satisfying. Also I just wanted white meat chicken in my soup.

Why did I use unflavored gelatin in this recipe? Gelatin occurs naturally in stock .   It is created when the cartilage in the chicken melts. Anyone who has looked on the bottom of the pan a roast chicken is in after it has been refrigerated has seen the gelatin that forms on the bottom of the pan.It is highly desirable because it gives the stock a rich texture and flavor. Commercial broth doesn’t have gelatin. I just add it back through the use of unflavored gelatin

What does “bloom” mean? It is when the gelatin crystals absorb moisture. If you just sprinkled powder gelatin on your soup it could clump.

Do I have to use egg noodles? No. Use any noodle you want or have. The first batch of this soup I made was with stars.

Enjoy!