Chicken noodle soup recipe

By Angela Boggiano

Serves 6
Takes 30 minutes to make, 1½ hours to cook, plus freezing, defrosting and reheating
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Rating

Chicken noodle soup is one of our Top 10 comfort foods and it's low-cal. Because it can be frozen, it's a meal-in-one you can take out of the freezer and reheat in minutes.

Ingredients

1.5kg whole chicken
4 carrots
3 celery sticks
3 onions
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 leek, sliced
1 garlic clove, chopped
100g dried egg noodles
2cm piece fresh ginger, grated
Chopped fresh parsley leaves and spring onions, to serve

Method

1. Put the chicken in a large pan with 2 carrots and 2 celery sticks, all roughly chopped, 2 onions, quartered, and the bay leaves. Add about 2.5 litres water, to cover the chicken and veg. Bring to the boil, skim off any fat and simmer for 1 hour. Remove the chicken and strain the stock, discarding the solids.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the leek, garlic and remaining carrots, cut into cubes, and the remaining onion and celery stick, both finely chopped. Cook for 5 minutes, until tender. Add 2 litres of the strained broth and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, remove the skin and strip the meat from the chicken. Tear the meat into bite-size pieces and add to the soup. Remove from the heat and cool completely. Ladle into sturdy freezer bags or rigid containers and freeze for up to 2 months.
4. Defrost, then reheat until piping hot. Add the noodles and ginger and simmer for 4-5 minutes, until the noodles are tender. Season and garnish with the parsley and spring onions.