Weeknight chicken noodle soup

 19 November 2021

Recipe from All Time Best Soups, America's Test Kitchen, 2016, p. 15.

Winter is soup season and here is another comforting recipe I tried for us to enjoy during our cooler months. I have previously made another chicken noodle soup from this same cookbook, one that take a little over two hours to prepare. This recipe was designed to be faster to make, but would it still be good soup?

Bay leaves and fresh thyme leaves in chicken broth were brought to a boil in the microwave then set aside. Boneless skinless chicken breasts were browned in a Dutch oven and set aside to cool. In the fat left in the Dutch oven, onion was cooked until lightly browned. The broth mixture was added followed by carrots, celery, and the browned chicken. This was covered and simmered gently until the chicken reached 160°. The chicken was removed from the broth and, after cooling, was shredded into bite-sized pieces. Noodles were stirred into the soup and simmered until just tender. Off heat, the bay leaves were removed and the chicken was added with minced fresh parsley. Total time was one hour.

This is a good chicken noodle soup, especially considering the relatively small effort that went into making it. Without doing a side-by-side tasting I am not prepared to say which is better, but I suspect it is the soup that took two hours to make. This soup has a small amount of broth compared to the amount of vegetables, meat, and noodles. The broth has a good flavor but it is not particularly complex. Nonetheless this is good soup especially on a cold day.