In a former chapter of my life, I owned a 32-seat restaurant on Central Street in Bangor. The food of Café Nouveau was “international cuisine featuring organic Maine products “, a style amalgamation of Chez Panisse and Alice Waters, Wolfgang Puck, Julia Child, and the Silver Palate New York city gourmet shop. Our location, in the heart of downtown, was within walking distance of both courthouses, the library, post office and several banks. We did a brisk luncheon business.
Many of our ingredients were procured from local farmers, and Maine farm-raised chicken, in whatever form, was extremely popular. I roasted several whole birds weekly, picking the meat off the bones, and simmering the bones and skin, herbs and vegetables to prepare a delicious chicken broth that was the base of many soups and stews.
When a close friend requested a comforting soup for her elderly mother recovering from pneumonia, I tinkered with different adaptations of chicken soup. Long recognized as a form of folk medicine to treat respiratory infections, chicken soup is a traditional dish of the European Jewish kitchen. Here in the United States and Canada, variations of this savory broth, also known as an “alternative” to penicillin, contain noodles. Urban legend attributes the coining of the term “chicken noodle soup” to a commercial for the Campbell Soup Company featuring Amos and Andy in 1930.
The recipe for Cheryl’s Chicken Noodle Soup is from my archives. The luxuriant stock provides a rich, chicken flavor. Although roasting a whole chicken, picking meat off the bones and preparing a stock may seem laborious, the process can be calming. For the budget conscious, “a chicken in very pot” is quite economical for a week of family meals. In a time crunch? Most commercially prepared broths will also provide a depth of chicken flavor.
The balance of garlic, ginger and lemon zest clears the sinuses, and provides soothing relief from stress and daily worries. Almost as good as a hug! Noodles and small chunks of chicken are nourishing sustenance and body for the stew. Whenever someone isn’t feeling well, a jar of this soup will restore the spirits and warm their soul.
From antiquity on, soups have always held a very prominent place in the daily fare of monasteries. The French have a proverb: Eat soup first and eat it last and live till a hundred years be past. The appeal of this soup is universal, almost of a basic instinctual nature.
The year of 2024 was uncertain and tumultuous: wars, political upheaval and climatic catastrophes. As we look forward to 2025, my mantra is to practice kindness, live one day at a time, don’t judge, love my community and send forth multiple jars of Cheryl’s Chicken Noodle Soup. May you and your family enjoy peace, good health and happiness in the New Year.
Basic Chicken Stock
Ingredients
- Bones skin, carcasses from chicken, chicken organs
- Vegetable scrap*s: onion skins garlic skins, carrot peelings, lemon rinds, celery hearts,
- Leeks scallions, ginger root, tomato ends
- Plus whole vegetables if needed
- Aromatics: Bay leaf peppercorns, rosemary sprigs, lemongrass trimmings, thyme
Instructions
- Add ingredients to a large stock pot. Cover the ingredients with cold water.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce the heat. Simmer the mixture for 1 -2 hours, adding more water if needed
- When the mixture has “given up all its goodness” (Julia Child), strain the mixture.
- Refrigerate until the mixture has set up. Skim the fat off the top and portion into jars. Label and date. Refrigerate or freeze.
Cheryl's Notes
Cheryl’s Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1 pound chopped cooked chicken (about 3 cups)
- 1 large onion (about 1 cup, chopped)
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh garlic or more to taste
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger root or more to taste
- 1 tbsp grated lemon zest or more to taste
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
- Maine sea salt and fresh pepper to taste
- 1 cup uncooked pasta noodles 3 ounces
- chicken bullion optional, to taste
Instructions
- Assemble ingredients and tools. Chop the onion and set aside. Finely chop the garlic and set aside.
- Grate the ginger root and set aside.
- Grate the lemon zest and set aside.
- Chop the parsley. Save vegetables scraps in bag for stock.
- Roast a whole chicken
- Pick the meat off the bones.
- Add the olive oil to a heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until the onion is soft. If necessary, add some stock to keep from sticking. Stir well.
- Add the remaining stock, ginger root, lemon zest and bay leaf. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Add the cooked chicken and noodles. Stir well.
- Simmer the soup until the noodles are just soft. Stir in the chopped parsley. Taste the soup. Season to taste with Maine sea salt and fresh pepper. Taste again and season if needed with additional garlic, lemon zest or grated ginger. For more chicken flavor, stir in a little chicken bouillon.
- Simmer for an additional five minutes and taste again. Remove the bay leaf before serving.
- Portion remaining soup into jars and refrigerate. This soup stores and freezes well.
