Dutch Oven Chicken Noodle Soup with Handmade Noodles

This weekend, a number of factors played into what I ended up making for our Sunday dinner.  First, my father-in-law was coming over, so I wanted it to be something very yummy.  Second, it’s getting colder, so it would need to be something warm and comforting.  I also was thinking about my upcoming book, “Around the World...”  I was thinking about the handmade pasta recipes, and how hard it is to describe the process.  I thought it would be cool to make a video of the mixing and rolling.

Chicken Noodle Soup!  That would be a perfect dish to satisfy all three requirements!  I hadn’t made noodles by hand in a long time, so I thought it would be fun to do that again.

The Noodles

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp garlic powder
1-2 Tbsp parsley, basil, or oregano (or a combination).
6 eggs

The process was just like I did back in the day: http://www.marksblackpot.com/2008/05/dutch-oven-herb-fettuccini-with-creamy.html  The recipe was a little different, but not much.  I used just eggs instead of eggs and water this time.  Here’s the video.  It makes more sense when you watch it than it does when you just read about it.





The Soup

12” Dutch Oven

20+ coals below

3-4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4-6 cups water (to fill the dutch oven about half-way)

The pasta from step 1

3-4 Carrots
1-2 Medium onions
3-4 stalks celery
1-2 sweet peppers
Salt
Pepper
Juice of 1 lemon

I started by lighting up some coals, and getting those under the Dutch oven (with the lid on) with the chicken and the water.  I just let that boil until the chicken was essentially cooked all the way through.  I wasn’t too concerned, because it would cook more in the soup.  While that was happening, I was chopping up the veggies.

Once it was done, I pulled the chicken breasts out, and refreshed the coals underneath.  I put the lid back on and let the broth come up to a good, energetic boil.  I added in the pasta, and replaced the lid.  After a few minutes, I stirred it gently.  I didn’t want it to cook too much, too quickly.

Then, I added in all the veggies.  I cut the meat into chunks and added that back in.  I added in the flavorings and seasonings, and just let it simmer with the lid on until the veggies were soft.

It was a delicious soup!  A big hit with the family and the father-in-law.  Because there was big chunks of veggies, meat, and lots of noodles, it was a very hearty and filling dish.  The residual flour on the noodles and the starch of the noodles themselves helped to thicken the broth, too.




Mark has discovered a love of Dutch Oven Cooking. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including MarkHansenMusic.com and his MoBoy blog.