CHICKEN SOUP FROM ROTISSERIE CHICKEN

CHICKEN SOUP FROM ROTISSERIE CHICKEN image

Categories Chicken

Yield 6-8 bowls

Number Of Ingredients 13

Ingredients

1 fully-cooked rotisserie chicken carcass with some skin/meat left on the bones (any excess fat removed and discarded)*
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (optional)
Water
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
2 to 3 cloves of garlic, sliced
3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
2 to 3 ribs celery, sliced
1/2 red or orange bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
1 cup thick-sliced (or quartered) white mushrooms
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste
1 (8-ounce) packaged dried egg noodle pasta
3 tablespoons coarsely-chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Chicken meat, coarsely chopped or shredded

Steps:

In a large soup pot (or cast-iron Dutch oven) over medium-high heat, place the prepared chicken carcass (I usually break the carcass into smaller pieces to fit into the pot easier). Add chicken stock and enough water to completely cover the chicken carcass. Bring the water just to a boil and then reduce heat to a slow simmer. Let simmer approximately 60 to 90 minutes. The key to a good stock is to bring water to a boil just once at the beginning and then cook at just barely a simmer for the remainder of the cooking time, as long slow cooking is best to extract all the subtle flavors. After cooking, remove the pot from the heat. Remove and discard the chicken bones and any meat pieces (since you have cooked the mixture for a long time, there is no nutritional value left). Strain the remaining liquid to remove smaller particles in the stock (pour the liquid through a fine mesh sieve place over a large pot). Be careful as the stock will be hot! In a large soup pot (or cast-iron Dutch oven) over medium-high heat, place the prepared chicken stock. Bring just to a boil and then reduce heat to medium. Add onion, garlic, carrots, celery, bell pepper, and mushrooms. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook the vegetables until slightly soft. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Add dried egg noodles and cook approximately 20 minutes or until noodles are tender (any type of pasta can be used). After noodles are cooked, reduce heat to low, taste and season soup with additional salt and pepper (if needed). Add the chopped cooked chicken and the cilantro leaves. Let soup simmer until chicken meat is warm.