Fall is definitely upon us – this past weekend, I was admiring the fall colors as I did my errands! And once fall is here, I start thinking about soup! Chicken soup is a classic, and this version, with zoodles in place of the traditional noodles, really worked! I want to try a few other things the next time I make some chicken stock, but in the meantime, here’s my recipe for chicken zoodle soup. If you’re not a zoodle fan, feel free to add noodles, pasta, or rice instead.
The recipe is below but I’m starting with the directions. This looks really long and complicated, but believe me – it’s not nearly as bad as it looks. It does need a lot of cooking time, though, so plan this for a day you’ll be in the house.
First, the chicken broth/stock. I remember a few years ago when restaurants started advertising “bone broth” – one of my vegetarian friends was expressing her disgust at the name and concept. I said, “well, all broth except vegetable broth is made from bones, isn’t it?” I’m not sure all the people buying bone broth realize that, but as far as I know it is, and whenever I make a whole chicken or turkey, I save the bones and make some stock. By the way, this is a great thing to do with your leftover Thanksgiving turkey! Start by coarsely dicing one yellow onion, two carrots, and two stalks celery (these don’t need to be finely chopped at all – you will be straining them out). Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and add vegetables, 1 tablespoon salt and some ground pepper. In the meantime, look at your bird and remove any large pieces of meat (ie, if you have half the breast meat, take it off). If the carcass is very large, cut it as necessary – a lot of times removing the wings and/or legs will help it fit in the pot (be sure to put those wings/legs in the pot unless someone in your house really wants them). When the onions become translucent and the veggies start to soften, the real fun begins! Add your chicken carcass, chicken broth (yes, it’s cheating, but ever since the time I made chicken stock that just didn’t taste like chicken, I bump it up a little), white wine, enough water to completely cover the carcass after the stock and wine have been added, bay leaves, ground sage, ground thyme, parsley, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 4 hours – if you have a large bird such as a turkey, you may need more time, but 4 hours should do it for a chicken. Taste it! If it tastes like broth, you’re good. If not, give it a little more time and add more water and/or stock if it’s overly reduced.
Once your stock is done and tasting like stock, let it cool. Put a colander over another large pot or bowl and strain the stock into that second pot. You’ll end up with a pot of plain broth and a yucky looking colander full of spices, bones, veggies and most important, chicken. Get out another bowl and pick through that mess to remove the pieces of chicken, which you should put in that new bowl. Pull any large pieces apart to the size you want and be sure to pick through them to remove any little bones or pieces of chicken skin (I highly recommend leaving the skin on when making the stock, but eating boiled chicken skin is just yucky!). Throw the bones, skin, bay leaves, and vegetables out.
Finely dice 1/2 onion, 1 carrot, and 1 stalk celery. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add veggies, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and saute until onion is translucent and veggies are soft (about 5 minutes).
Skim the fat off the top of the cooled chicken broth. You should be able to do so with a regular kitchen spoon. Now comes a decision point. If you’ve made more broth than you need, this is the time to portion it out and freeze what you don’t need, but you have to decide: do you want to save plain chicken stock, which has numerous uses in the kitchen, or chicken soup? Obviously, if you’re saving plain stock, do so now. If not, or if you’re going to eat it all now, add the chicken pieces and sauteed vegetables to the pot with the chicken broth.
If you’re making zoodles for this soup, spiralize one zucchini and add your zoodles to the pot. If you prefer noodles, pasta or rice, add a good handful to the pot. Heat over medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until the soup is bubbling and the add-ins are soft.
Serve immediately and warm everyone’s heart and toes!
Chicken Zoodle Soup – serves 4 (at least)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 and 1/2 onions
3 carrots, peeled
3 stalks celery
1 chicken carcass with meat and skin
4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup white wine
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground sage
1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
1 tablespoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Ground pepper
1 zucchini or a handful of rice, noodles or pasta
YUM!!!