RICHMOND, Va (WTVR) - Celebrity Chef Emeril Lagasse is known for his great cooking style and 'kicking it up a notch' in the kitchen. In honor of National Soup Month he wants you to enjoy his classic chicken noodle soup. Visit Emeril for more recipes and ideas at http://www.emerils.com/ .
SIMPLE CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, copyright Martha Stewart Omnimedia, Inc.
One 3- to 4-pound whole chicken
1 quart chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth
2 quarts water
2 medium onions, quartered, plus 1/2 cup onions, diced
2 carrots, roughly chopped, plus 1/2 cup sliced carrots
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped, plus 1/2 cup small-diced celery
2 sprigs fresh thyme
5 or 6 parsley stems, plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 bay leaf
2 1/4 teaspoons salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 ounces whole button mushrooms, quartered
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 pound dried vermicelli noodles, broken into pieces
Place chicken in a large stockpot or Dutch oven and cover with stock and water. Add quartered onion, chopped carrots, chopped celery, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil, partially cover, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 1 hour; chicken should easily pull away from the bones.
Using tongs, remove chicken from broth and set-aside until cool enough to handle. Strain cooking liquid through a fine-meshed sieve lined with cheesecloth, discarding vegetables and reserving cooking liquid. Pull chicken meat off bones, discarding bones, skin, and any fat. Shred and reserve meat.
Add oil to a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Add diced onions, sliced carrots, and diced celery and cook until vegetables are softened, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in butter and reserved cooked chicken. Add reserved cooking liquid and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Add 2 1/4 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and vermicelli to the pot and simmer until noodles are cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in parsley leaves. Serve hot.
Yield: 3 quarts
