I don’t know why, but cooking chicken noodle soup reminds me of childhood. In  fact I know where this memory comes from: mum would cook this kind of soup for us whenever we were sick, or in those freezing cold winter days. It was so much of a comforting sensation, to eat a cup of that warm, hearty soup, after hours of playing in the snow!

Chicken noodle soup - Yummy!

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken, cut in 4-6 pieces
• 4 cups chicken broth or chicken stock
• 1 parsnip, diced
• 2-3 carrots, diced or sliced
• 1-2 onions, cut in wedges or chopped
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 cups noodles (homemade are the best, but you can find some good ones in shops as well)
• 5-6 sprigs fresh parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Put the stock in a pot, add the chicken, salt, onions, parsnip, carrots and half of the parsley. If the stock is not enough to cover the chicken, add water. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 1 hour or until the chicken is tender. Skim the soup from time to time, whenever needed. Take the chicken out of the broth and put it in a large bowl. Discard all vegetables and strain the broth through a sieve.

Remove skin and bones from the chicken and cut the meat into bite-sized pieces. Add the strained broth, salt and pepper. Bring it to a boil, then set the heat to low and add the noodles and the rest of the parsley. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the noodles are done. Serve hot.

Chicken noodles soup and an unexpected guest