This starts out similar to the Tortellini Soup I explained a couple of months ago, but then you make it thicker with my Mom’s secret addition, then use thin egg noodles instead of tortellini, and I pack it with larger chunks of chicken, carrots and celery and finish with herbs when in season in my garden.

It is called Halloween soup, because when I was a kid, my mom would make a big pot of this on Halloween and feed us soup and sandwiches before we went on our way to over indulge in candy.  It could also have been named sick soup, as whenever we were sick this was the magic remedy!  As with my Italian sauces, I make a huge pot and save at least half in the freezer for a rainy day (or a Thursday when I am out of leftovers and ideas!)

Ingredients

Package of chicken wings

1 large split breast

(If you love dark meat and want some for the soup, use a large 5-7 pound chicken instead of the split breast, I happen to prefer all white meat for the soup)

1 large peeled carrot chopped into 3 pieces

2 celery stalks roughly chopped

1 medium onion chopped into 3 pieces

Fresh herbs (in cheesecloth if you have it)

1 lemon

5 large carrots cut into small chunks

4 celery stalks cut into half moons

2 small onions chopped finely

Secret:  Create a slurry to thicken the soup by combining  2 egg yolks, 3 tbsp  Wondra flour and a splash of cold water in a small bowl and whisking it together.  

Half package of fine egg noodles

2-4 tsps of salt

Fresh herbs when available

Put the rinsed chicken wings and breast (or whole chicken) into the bottom of a large pot and cover with cold water.  Cover it by 3 or 4 inches above the chicken, then add in the coarsely chopped  carrot, celery, onion and the packet of herbs (if I don’t have cheesecloth I just throw them in and most will come out when I strain the broth – see below).

Put the pot over medium high heat stirring occasionally until it hits a boil.  Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium and squeeze half the lemon into the soup over a strainer or into your other hand to catch the seeds.  Use a ladle and strain off any scum from the surface.  Keep heating the stock for another 30 minutes on a slow simmer, then squeeze in the other half of lemon and skim again if needed.

While the stock is simmering, chop the carrots, celery and onions while the stock is simmering and reserve in a big bowl with a damp paper towel on top until ready to add to the stock. Cook for a final 15-30 minutes on a low simmer then strain out all the chunks.

Tip:  I pour it into a pasta strainer that came within a big pot that also had the vegetable strainer with the pot.  It makes it possible to strain out all of the big chunks.  You can then run the stock back through a fine mesh when pouring it back into the pot, if you still see some random herbs or chunks you want removed.  

Reserve the chicken to cool in a bowl.  Put the stock back onto the burner at medium high and add in all the diced vegetables, they will need to cook in the bubbling stock for 10 – 15 minutes until tender, and the pasta, which is very thin, will need to cook in the bubbling stock for 3 minutes (but check the package directions to make sure).  Once the veggies are tender and the pasta al dente (cooked but still with a bit of a bite) then turn down the stock to low and let it cool for a few minutes while you pull apart the chicken into big chunks.

Once cooled down, add the reserved chicken which will cool it a bit further, then whisk in the slurry (don’t add it when the soup is boiling or it can get lumpy).  Cook for 5 more minutes on medium low while stirring frequently and add in 2 tsps of salt (then taste it and add more if needed, it is a big pot of soup and it will taste like dishwater without enough seasoning).  Then you are ready to serve!

(If you have fresh dill and/or flat leaf parsley, chop it finely and add 1 tablespoon of each to the soup right before serving.)

Serve with Chicken sandwiches on big kaiser rolls with butter, perfect for dipping into the hot soup, and rounding out the meal for your hearty eaters

Trick:  Save as much soup as you can spare, in individual portion tupperware, or in big containers (that can provide one full meal for the whole family another time) and label with masking tape with name of the soup and date it was made.  Best eaten within a month from the freezer, before it loses flavor.  

Tip:  Can freeze the soup with all ingredients except the noodles and fresh herbs, and when you reheat just throw them in at that time since the noodles only take 3 minutes or so to get tender and the herbs need no time at all and neither will freeze as well as the other ingredients do