Nana’s Chicken Soup with Zucchini Noodles
Makes around 6 servings | Prep Time 20 minutes | Cook Time 25 minutes
Some things are reflexive. Feeling yucky but hungry? Ninety-nine times out of one hundred, chicken soup fits the bill. Science has shown that chicken soup clears sinuses, but really did we need the PhDs to tell us what grandmothers have known since time immemorial? “Drink this and you’ll feel better,” was what my nana used to say, and boy was she right. I’ve honored her recipe here in all ways but one: instead of using old-fashioned egg noodles, I’ve taken a handheld spiralizer and run a zucchini through it. When you put these zucchini noodles in at the end of the simmering time, they have an al dente texture. It really completes the soup, and it will help you feel right as rain.
Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat, then add the onion, carrots, celery, and 1⁄4 teaspoon salt and sauté until golden, about 8 minutes. Pour in 1⁄2 cup of the stock to deglaze the pot, stirring to loosen any bits stuck to the bottom, and cook until the liquid is reduced by half.
Add the remaining 51⁄2 cups of stock, bring to a boil over medium heat, then decrease the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the chicken, zucchini noodles, lemon zest, and lemon juice and cook for 2 minutes more. Serve garnished with the parsley, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
COOK’S NOTE: Only put in the amount of zucchini noodles you will eat at the time. Letting them sit in the soup and reheating will turn them into mush, just like regular noodles. Refrigerate left- over, uncooked zucchini noodles in a separate airtight container. Add them to the soup when you reheat the leftovers.
Reprinted with permission from Clean Soups by Rebecca Katz
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely diced
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into rounds
4 stalks celery, sliced into 1⁄2-inch chunks
Sea salt
6 cups Old-Fashioned Chicken Stock (page 39)
2 cups cooked and thinly sliced organic chicken (see Cook’s Note on page 92)
1 zucchini, peeled and spiralized or cut into thin noodles (see Cook’s Note)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or dill, for garnish