Chicken Noodle Soup

Serves 4 to 6

adapted from Jenny Linford’s From My Mother’s Kitchen (Ryland Peters & Small)

For stock

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 pounds chicken legs & thighs
1 medium onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove, smashed
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 leek, bottom white part only
a few sprigs of flat-leaf parsley
1 dried bay leaf

For soup

1 medium onion, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick
2 celery stalks sliced 1-inch thick
3 ounces fine eggs noodles or spaghetti, broken into pieces
ΒΌ cup fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large stockpot. Season chicken with salt and pepper and brown in small batches, being careful not to overcrowd pan. When done, return chicken back to pot. Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Pour in 6 cups of cold water, add leek, parsley and bay leaf and simmer, covered, over medium-low heat for one hour.

2. Skim fat from surface of stock. Using tongs or a large slotted spoon, remove chicken from the pot and set aside. Pour stock through a fine strainer, and discard vegetables and herbs. Let chicken cool, then remove meat from bines and roughly chop; set aside.

3. Meanwhile, heat remaining oil over medium-low heat in stockpot. Add onion, carrots and celery, season with salt and pepper. Saute for 5 minutes, then pour stock over vegetables. Bring to a boil, then add noodles and cook until desired tenderness, about 8 minutes for al dente. Add chopped chicken, stir in chopped parsley and cook until chicken is heated through. Ladle into bowls and serve immediately.