Chicken Noodle Soup, More or Less

There is something about chopping vegetables, hearing them hit a hot pot, and smelling the thyme and garlic that begins to make the day a little less important.

Start with the Mirepoix

Mirepoix is onion, carrot, and celery. Traditionally, people will tell you it should be two parts onion, one part carrot, and one part celery. They are not wrong.

I usually use about a cup of each.

Sometimes they are equal. Sometimes they aren’t. Sometimes there is less celery in the refrigerator than I thought. Sometimes I had an extra beer.

Whatever.

Cut the vegetables to whatever size you like. This is soup. It will be fine.

Build the Base

Heat a large pot over medium heat. I love my Dutch oven, which a good friend gave me for Christmas one year, but use whatever pot you have.

Add about a tablespoon of oil. When it begins to shimmer, add the onion, carrot, and celery. Give everything a good stir so the vegetables are lightly coated.

Now season them. I start with kosher salt, coarse black pepper, and thyme—probably about a teaspoon of each. In reality, I take a good pinch of each and sprinkle it over the vegetables.

People ask me for amounts, so I am trying.

If you are using garlic powder or granulated garlic, add about ½ teaspoon now. Let the vegetables sweat down, stirring occasionally. Seasoning the vegetables now tastes different from waiting until the whole pot is full of liquid and trying to fix it later.

You will smell the difference.

Add the Garlic

If you are using fresh garlic, peel three or four cloves, depending on your garlic tolerance.

We like garlic.

Crush and mince it. Once the vegetables have softened, add the garlic and let it bloom for about a minute. Do not walk away. Garlic can go from fragrant to punished fairly quickly.

Add the Stock

For two to three cups of vegetables, I usually add six to eight cups of chicken stock.

Homemade stock is my first choice when I have it. Homemade stock is also different every time. Sometimes it is rich and beautiful. Sometimes it needs a little help.

Taste it.

If it needs help, add a little bouillon paste. I prefer Better Than Bouillon, but use whatever you have. If you do not have homemade stock at all, water and bouillon paste work perfectly well.

No shame in assistance.

Bring the soup to a gentle simmer and let the vegetables finish cooking. Taste. Assess. Adjust.

Meanwhile, You Have Been Busy

While the mirepoix is cooking and the stock is coming together, you have successfully brought another pot of water to a boil and started the noodles.

You have also seasoned a chicken breast with salt and pepper, lightly oiled it, and put it into a hot pan. At least, that is the plan.

Sear the chicken hard for about two minutes on each side, then finish it in a 350°F oven with a temperature probe. I usually leave it right in my Wagner skillet and move the whole thing into the oven.

You can use 375°F if that works better with whatever else you are cooking. You can also transfer the chicken to a casserole dish or sheet pan if your skillet cannot go into the oven.

Use what you have.

I usually pull the chicken at about 160–162°F and let carryover heat bring it to 165°F while it rests. Give it at least 10–15 minutes before chopping it.

When the noodles are cooked, drain them and rinse them with cold water to stop the cooking. Toss them with just enough oil to keep them from sticking together.

Keep Everything Separate

I do not add the chicken or noodles directly to the soup.

Noodles left in soup continue absorbing broth until they become something nobody asked for. Keeping them separate means they stay noodles and the soup stays soup.

I also usually make a large pot so I can freeze some. Freeze the soup base without chicken or noodles. Thaw it, cook fresh noodles and chicken—or use whatever protein you have—and dinner is mostly finished.

The chicken stays moister when it is cooked separately and added at the end instead of simmering in the broth until it dries itself into history.

Put It Together

Place the noodles in the bowl. Add the chopped chicken. Ladle the hot soup over everything, making sure each bowl gets plenty of vegetables. Let it sit for a minute so the noodles and chicken warm through.

Serve with oyster crackers, grilled cheese, or both.

Make It Yours

This is a chicken soup base, not a binding agreement.

Change the amount of vegetables. Change the size of the dice. Add more garlic. Use leftover roasted chicken instead of cooking a breast. Use turkey, rice, another kind of noodle, or whatever needs to be used.

Make it once according to the recipe if that makes you comfortable. Then make it the way you like it.