Hearty Chicken Soup with Shells, Tomatoes, and Zucchini

By LaLaCooks

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Classic chicken noodle soup is one of the all-time comfort foods. We eat it to nurse a cold or pair it with a simple sandwich for a satisfying meal. But making chicken noodle soup from scratch can take all day. We wanted a simple recipe but we wanted to make it the old-fashioned way—starting with a whole chicken— rather than cheating with store-bought broth.

We began by cutting the chicken into small pieces that could be browned in batches. To develop additional flavor, we sweated the browned pieces in a covered pot with an onion, then simmered them for less than half an hour. Now we had a stock that just needed some salt and a bay leaf to round out its flavor. We reserved some of the skimmed fat from the stock to sauté aromatics for the soup, and we added in tender chicken breast pieces that had already been poached in our stock. For extra flavor, we cooked the shells right in the soup pot so they could absorb rich, meaty flavor from the stock. With a final sprinkling of chopped parsley, our chicken noodle soup was complete—rich, homemade broth, moist pieces of chicken, tender vegetables, and perfectly cooked noodles.

Ingredients

• 1tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds), breast removed and split, remaining chicken cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 medium onions , cut into medium dice
• 2quarts boiling water
• Table salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 large carrot , peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 1medium rib celery , sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 1 medium zucchini , cut into medium dice
• 1/4teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2cup canned chopped tomatoes or equal amount of chopped fresh tomatoes
• 1cup pasta shells (small), or elbow macaroni
• 1/4cup minced fresh basil leaves
• Ground black pepper
• grated Parmesan cheese , passed separately (optional)

Preparation

Step 1

1. Heat oil in large soup kettle. When oil shimmers and starts to smoke, add chicken breast halves; sauté until brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside. Add half of chopped onions to kettle; sauté until colored and softened slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl; set aside. Add half of chicken pieces; sauté until no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl with onions. Sauté remaining chicken pieces. Return onions and chicken pieces (excluding breasts) to kettle. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until chicken releases its juices, about 20 minutes. Increase heat to high; add boiling water along with both breast halves, 2 teaspoons salt, and bay leaves. Return to simmer, then cover and barely simmer until chicken breasts are cooked and broth is rich and flavorful, about 20 minutes.
2. Remove chicken breasts from kettle; set aside. When cool enough to handle, remove skin from breasts, then remove meat from bones and shred into bite-size pieces; discard skin and bone. Strain broth; discard bones. Skim fat from broth, reserving 2 tablespoons. (Broth and meat can be covered and refrigerated up to 2 days.)
3. Return soup kettle to medium-high heat. Add reserved chicken fat. Add remaining onions, along with carrot, celery, and zucchini; sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add thyme, along with broth, tomatoes, and chicken; simmer until vegetables are tender and flavors meld, 10 to 15 minutes. Add shells and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings, stir in basil, and serve with parmesan cheese on the side.