Jewish Penicillin is something to take very seriously, it will never fail you. You're sick? Jewish Pencillin. You miss home? Jewish Penicillin. You've had a long week? Jewish Pencillin. You wanna look like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson? Well, I guess you should probably hit the gym more.
Friday Coco came home and wasn't feeling well. He had worked like a dog all week averaging 16 hour days. I knew just what he needed, a big bowl of chunky chicken noodle soup, or as I like to call it "Jewish Penicillin". So a big pot of Jewish Penicillin is what we had all weekend long. But, not just any bowl of chicken noodle soup, we go bold and make it chunky in flavor and appearance.
Why not be who you are and let your flag, whatever it may be, fly high. I like a chicken noodle soup with a little spunk. I make mine with equally sized small chunks of veggies, where no single vegetable steals the show. My secret trick to this soup is using already made rotisserie chicken! The rotisserie chicken carcass- already seasoned and roasted- enriches the tasteless stock and gives it a bold makeover, taking it from 0 to 100 real quick. This soup is and looks mighty. Don't even think about messing with the chunks, yeah I'm talking to you, Corey's cold! Be gone, cause we ain't having it, not up in here.
Let's get you feeling better or just give you that warm comforting feeling with this chunky chicken noodle soup. Here's what were working with.
My secret trick in making this chicken noodle soup is using a rotisserie chicken to enrich the stock. I learned this trick while working in the test kitchen at the Food Network. It not only saves you time, but also enriches the flavor of your stock base with it's roasted seasoned flavor and the meat is already cooked, all you have to do is shred it! How easy is that!
Save the carcass. Place the carcass in a cheesecloth and secure with butchers twine to keep all the bones together, saving you the step of straining the stock once you've simmered it for a 1 1/2 hours. The skin and bones will add a ton of flavor to your soup. Tie about 12 sprigs parsley and 12 sprigs dill with 2 bay leafs and a few black peppercorns in a cheesecloth and also secure it with butchers twine. This my friends is called a bouquet garni, or a fancier french way of saying herb satchel. These herbs will bump your soup up to flavor town.
Once you have your two little packages of flavor all tied up in butchers twine, get to chopping. You got a few veggies to cut up into small pieces. Keep the pieces bite-sized and try to cut them all into the same sizes. I'm going to focus on the leek, in case some of you have never cooked with a leek before, here are a few steps you should follow. Make sure to slice your leek down the middle (vertically), cut off the green parts, but keep the light green and white parts. Be sure to clean out the different layers of leek because dirt likes to hide in these hidden places. Thinly slice the leeks. Get your veggies chopped up, melt butter in a large pot. I used an 8 quart and sauté your veggies till softened and tender, about 12 minutes.
Add the little cheese cloth packets of flavor containing the carcass and bones and the other with the herbs. Add the chicken bouillon cube and cover with the stock and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
After about 1 1/2 hours, lift the lid (be careful with the steam) and remove the chicken carcass and bouquet garni. Add the kale, pasta, and shredded chicken, cook until tender, about 12 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve while hot! Coco is one happy boy, feeling better at first sip!
Chicken Noodle Soup
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours and 20 minutes
Yield: 6 to 8 servings, 10 cups
Ingredients:
1 rotisserie chicken, shred meat and keep caracas bones (for stock)
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 yellow onion, chopped into small pieces
2 celery stalks, chopped into small pieces
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped into small pieces
1 leek, white part only, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 turnip, peeled and chopped into small pieces
1 celery root, peeled and chopped into small pieces
4 cups chicken stock or broth
6 cups water
1 chicken bouillon cube
12 sprigs parsley
12 sprigs fresh dill
2 bay leafs
1 cup kale, stems removed and leaves torn into 1-inch pieces
1/2 pound fusilli, rotini, or bowtie pasta
salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
In a bowl, shred the rotisserie chicken meat into small pieces and reserve the chicken carcass. Place the carcass in a cheesecloth and secure with butchers twine, set aside.
Place the parsley, dill, and bay leafs in a cheesecloth and secure with butchers twine. This will be your bouquet garni.
In a large pot over medium high heat, melt the butter and add onions, cook for 2 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, leek, turnip, and celery root. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the secured chicken carcass to the pot. Add the chicken bouillon cube and bouquet garni. Cover with chicken stock and water, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pan and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
Lift the lid and remove the chicken carcass and bouquet garni. Add the kale, pasta, and shredded chicken, cook until tender, about 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- theWholeELchilada