After the holidays I was feeling rundown and definitely craved some of Baba's (Macedonian for Grandmother) Chicken Noodle Soup. She makes he broth from scratch so with her guidance I was able to replicate her soup. Since we will be makings everything from scratch you can control your salt and therefore your sodium level. Also I used rice noodles so that we can keep it gluten free. If you are not feeling well Baba's Chicken Noodle is definitely a good way to go because it is packed with nutrients from the vegetables used to create the broth. ENJOY
INGREDIENTS:
1 Whole Chicken
1 TBSP Salt (to wash the chicken)
1-2 TBSP White Vinegar (to wash the chicken)
3 Carrots (Chopped)
3 Celery Branches (Chopped)
3 Small Onions (Cut in quarters)
1 Whole Clove of Garlic (cut in half)
1 Lemon (you will need the zest and the juice)
2 Egg Yokes
Rice Noodles (use as much as desired)
Salt and Pepper as desired
DIRECTIONS:
Wash chicken in cold water. To wash further, rub with a bit of white vinegar and a bit of salt to kill any bacteria
Cut chicken in halves or quarters and remove any excess fat
Place chicken in deep pot and add cold water (about 3 litres per kg of chicken), and 1 tablespoon of salt
Bring water to a boil and then turn to medium heat uncovered
During the first 5 minutes of boiling, skim the excess fat and foam that rises to the top
After you have skimmed, add the chopped onion, celery, carrots and garlic
Cover and let boil on low to medium heat for 1.5 hours or until chicken is cooked
Remove chicken and set aside to cool
Remove carrots and set aside to cool
Remove onions, celery, and garlic to a strainer. Use ladel to mash this mixture through the strainer into the soup. Do this for 5 minutes and discard anything that doesn't go through strainer
Add zest of 1 lemon. Add a bit of salt to season, if necessary
In a medium bowl, mix 2 egg yokes, the juice of 1 lemon and a bit of cold water. Give it a good wisk for 2-3 minutes.
Add noodles to pot. As they are cooking, slowly add about 4-5 ladels of stock to the egg mixture, stirring as you do it. This will bring the egg mixture up to temperature of the stock and will make sure the yokes dont cook.
When noodles are half way done, slowly add the egg and stock mixture back into the pot, ladel by ladel
Remove skin off chicken and shred or chop chicken to your liking. Add back to the soup with the carrots
Remove from heat and cover to hang out for a few minutes or serve right away.
When serving, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and some fresh cracked pepper make it perfect!
I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! Happy cooking!!!