Chicken Noodle Soup

For the chicken:

1  whole roasting chicken (4-5 lbs)*

½ lemon

1 small bunch fresh thyme

¼ yellow onion

salt and pepper

For the soup:

4 quarts chicken stock*

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 stalks celery, chopped

2 medium onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

8  carrots, peeled and chopped

1 teaspoon salt

½ tsp ground white pepper

½ tsp ground black pepper

¼ cup fresh parsley leaves

1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves

For the noodles:

1 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1 egg

3 Tbsp milk

For homemade stock (recommended!), you’ll need to start at least a day before you make the soup. (See note below for stock recipe and tips on substitution.)

Preheat oven to 450°. Remove giblets from chicken and pat dry; sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and insert lemon, thyme, and onion into cavity. Roast until skin is browned, juices run clear, and meat thermometer registers 160° in thickest part of thigh, about 1 hour.

Remove from oven, cover loosely with foil, and let chicken rest for half an hour. Remove all meat from the chicken and chop coarsely.

Melt the butter in a large stock pot and add celery, onions, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until onions are translucent. Add the carrots, stock, salt, and pepper. Simmer the soup over medium heat for about half an hour, or until the carrots are tender.

While soup is simmering, prepare the noodles: Mix flour and salt in a small bowl and make a well in the center. Add egg and milk, stirring to gradually incorporate the flour mixture until dough comes together. Dough will be slightly sticky, but will form a ball (add a few extra drops of milk if it’s too dry). Knead dough until smooth, then divide in half. On a floured surface, roll each half until almost paper-thin. Use a pizza cutter to cut noodles about 1/8 inch wide and 5 inches long. Leave the cut noodles flat on the board until ready to add to soup.

Add the chicken, parsley, and thyme to the soup and return to a simmer. Add the noodles to the pot a few at a time, stirring after each addition. After all the noodles have been added, reduce heat to a low simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until noodles are tender.

* I mostly follow Alton Brown’s recipe and tips on making chicken stock: https://bit.ly/36uNIb0 Watch the video! (I tend to skip the leek and garlic, and play around with different herbs). For a quicker soup, you can use store-bought stock and a fresh deli rotisserie chicken, but you’ll sacrifice some of the soup’s richness and flavor.