The Best Bowl of Warmth is the One You Make Yourself
It is hard not to watch the news on the bad weather covering much of the country right now and not feel that same cold down to my bones. It may be unseasonably warm in Southern California right now, but trust me, we feel for you. While the sun shines through blue skies and the thermometer is regularly passing that 70s mark, we empathize with the rest of the cold country, we really do.
So much so, in fact, that through those warm rays we defiantly wear our puffy jacket, wrap our necks in wooly scarves, and hunker down to slurp up steaming bowls of soup, even as the sweat trickles down our faces. Soup will make everything better.
It is not just Americans who are fighting off the bone chilling weather with a warm bowl. Much of Europe has been blanketed the past few weeks in the worst snow they’ve seen in some time. Accordingly, sales of soup in the UK have shot up as much as 80% over this time last year in response. If you could gauge the people making soup as well as those buying pre-made, I am pretty sure the results would conclusively tell you that weather like this calls for a bowl of warmth.
The types of soups one can concoct know no limits. Just walk down the canned goods aisle of a supermarket and you get a small taste of the numerous types of soups offered by some of America’s favorite soup manufacturers. Looking at those aisles, it is probably no surprise that Campbell, arguably the best known of America’s canned soup makers, counts tomato and chicken noodle among its two most popular sellers. Right up there with baseball and apple pie, chicken noodle soup has found its place among the pillars of Americana. So when the weather is this cold and the end of winter is nowhere in sight, what could be more comforting than a bowl of pure heart-warming, soul soothing, chicken noodle soup?
Before you reach for America’s favorite canned variety, let it be known that making this cold weather treat for yourself does not have to be a time consuming hassle. Braving the weather for a trip to the store you could a) stock up on seven cans of sodium filled canned soup to see you through the next week or b) spend about the same amount of money and make a giant pot of soup that will also see you through to the next week but in a much tastier (and probably healthier) fashion.
The base of just about any good soup is stock or broth. Homemade broth is out of bounds for most time conscious cooks so we have to resort to the canned or boxed variety. Look for low-sodium chicken broth, preferably free-range or organic. The low sodium will allow better control over the final seasoning of the soup. Beef up the flavor with some pork. Saute some hickory smoked bacon to mix in, using a bit of the bacon fat when cooking the veggies for the soup. Or, drop in a ham hock with the stock to add a subtly smoky richness to the broth.
Cooking chicken for the soup does not have to take a lot of time. Plan ahead for the week’s meals and use scrappy leftovers from a Sunday night roast chicken as base for a Monday night soup. Or, cheat and buy a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket for some extra flavor with no work. In a real pinch, slice up chicken tenders and sauté for just a couple of minutes until browned and add back into the pot with the broth after sautéing onions, celery, and carrots.
After good broth, chicken, and some veggies, the only missing element to the soup is, of course, the noodles. Just about any pasta will do, but this is one time when a softer, floppier noodle is just what the dish is asking for. In this case, I prefer a good spiral egg noodle, the kind you might use with beef stroganoff. The texture is spot-on and those loose spirals love to nestle perfectly up against cubes of roast chicken and wrap softly around rounds of carrots and slices of celery.
Making a perfect bowl of chicken noodle soup needs no snow storm for an excuse. Although cold weather does tend to make that bowl taste just a little bit better, the best chicken noodle soup will always be the one you make yourself.
Made with avocados, salt and pepper, egg noodles, smoked bacon, onion, carrots, celery, cooked chicken, chicken broth
Serves/Makes: 8
- 5 slices hickory smoked bacon
- 1 medium onion
- 2 medium carrots
- 4 stalks celery
- 2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 4 ounces egg noodles
- salt and pepper
- 2 avocados
Heat a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Chop bacon into 1 inch pieces. Add to pan and render fat for about 5 minutes until bacon is partially cooked but not crispy. Drain off all but 1 Tablespoon of bacon fat.
While bacon is cooking, peel onion and slice in half lengthwise. Cut each half again lengthwise to form four quarters then slice crosswise into a 1/4-inch slice. Peel carrots and slice in half lengthwise then crosswise into 1/4-inch slices. Trim celery stalks and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices. After bacon has been cooked and fat drained off, add veggies to the pot with the bacon. Sweat vegetables with the bacon for about 10 minutes until they have softened.
While veggies are cooking bring broth to a boil in a separate pot. After veggies have cooked for 10 minutes, add chicken and hot broth and return to a boil. Add egg noodles and cook for about 10 minutes until noodles are soft. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
While noodles are cooking, remove pit and skin from the avocados and slice lengthwise into 1/2-inch long slices. Cut crosswise to form a large, rough chop. When soup is ready, gently stir in chopped avocado in and turn off heat. Ladle into bowls and serve.
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