Homemade Chicken Soup
Prep time: About 15 minutes (most of the preparation can be done while chicken is cooking)
Cook time: About 1½ hours
Recipe makes: 10 servings (¾ cup per serving)
Ingredients:
- 1 whole chicken, weighing 3-4 pounds
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 onion
- 3 carrots
- 3 celery stalks
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tomato
- 4 ounces (115 grams) whole-wheat pasta (like macaroni or fettucini broken into 2-inch pieces)
- Juice of ¼ lemon
Equipment and supplies:
- Large pot
- Knife and cutting board
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Two large spoons or tongs for lifting chicken
Instructions:
- Rinse the chicken in cold water and remove the skin. Put chicken in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add the rosemary and bay leaves and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium so the soup is . Simmer for 40 minutes, skimming off the foam from the surface.
- While the chicken is cooking, chop the vegetables into very small pieces (remove the seeds from the tomato before chopping). Peel and crush the garlic.
- When the chicken has simmered for 40 minutes, lift it out of the broth and put it on a plate. Strain the broth and set it aside.
- Wash the pot, then put it back on the stove and heat the olive oil over high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and tomato. Cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the reserved broth to the vegetables. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, take all the chicken meat off the bones and cut it into small pieces.
- Add the pieces of chicken and pasta to the soup. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes more.
- Add the lemon juice and season with salt substitute, pepper, and nutmeg. Serve the soup hot.
- You can keep the soup in the fridge for up to 4 days. The soup also freezes well.
Tip: Ask the butcher at your market to remove the chicken skin for you. Some will do this if they are not too busy.
Reviewed by: Meredith Parkinson, RD, LDN
Date reviewed: November 2012
