Nonna’s Chicken Noodle Soup
Dear Lovely,
Today I’m sharing a recipe for Nonna’s Chicken Noodle Soup. There is a really good chance most of you have a chicken noodle soup recipe in your arsenal already, and if that’s the case, great! There is nothing better or more healing than hot soup on cold nights. However, if you already have a go-to recipe, stay with me because I am going to give you 3 hacks that will change your chicken noodle soup life forever. In fact, I’ll share them with you right now before I give the recipe, and you can apply these tips to your own recipe.
For added protein and flavor, mix 2 eggs with 2 tablespoons of shredded Parmesan cheese, pour over simmering soup, and stir to combine. The heat will immediately cook the egg and provide added protein to keep you satisfied on cold winter days. (2 eggs are about 14 grams of protein) Want more protein, add additional eggs. I use the 1:1 ratio. One egg per 1 TBS Parmesan. This is a common practice among Italian nonnas when making soup.
Uffuzi Herbs from The Standard will turn any soup or dish into a flavorful dream. I add a TBS or so when sweating the vegetables, and then usually one more TBS after adding the stock while the soup comes to a simmer. Excellent, excellent flavor profile.
This hack I learned this from the wonderful JeriLynne Clifford, author of A Vineyard Table cookbook—if you don’t have this cookbook, I highly recommend it! She suggests using ground chicken for soup. No need to slow cook chicken or carve a pre-purchased rotisserie chicken because ground chicken cooks so quickly right inside the soup. It truly takes the longest part of chicken noodle soup making out of the picture!
You’re welcome.
Below is my recipe for Nonna’s Chicken Noodle Soup.
Ingredients:
2 pounds ground chicken
I’m cooking for 2 teenage boys so I use a lot of chicken, but if you prefer vegetables, add an extra of each veggie and omit one pound of the chicken
3 large carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 large vidalia onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
large glug of olive oil or avocado oil
2 “nests” of fettuccine broken into segments, this is approximately 8 oz; I use Lucido’s which you can get at the McKinney Farmer’s Market or at Local Yocal in Downtown McKinney.
2 TBS Uffuzi Herbs, divided (basically an Italian seasoning blend from a kitchen store in Downtown McKinney called The Standard.)
8 cups chicken stock
2 eggs mixed with 2 TBS shredded Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
heat oil over medium heat in a Le Creuset Signature Chef’s Oven. (you can read about my favorite kitchen essentials like this pot in my Kitchen Love Substack.)
sauté chopped veggies in oil (except garlic) until nearly translucent
add ground chicken, minced garlic, and one TBS Uffuzi herbs and break up chunks as it browns, 6-8 minutes.
stir in additional TBS Uffuzi Herbs and add chicken stock. bring to a high simmer.
add broken noodles and cook until al dente.
al dente is an Italian term that translates to “to the tooth.” It describes the ideal texture of cooked pasta when it is tender yet firm to the bite. This is considered the perfect balance between crunchy and mushy.
taste and adjust flavors by adding additional salt, pepper, or Uffuzi Herbs. I also keep Herbs de Provence in my cabinet at all times that I like to include for additional depth of flavor.
add egg cheese mixture and stir well for one minute
Enjoy while serving hot.
