chicken kale noodle soup with ho-made broth

On Saturday I woke up ready to have A Productive Weekend, which means going to not one but two grocery stores, deep cleaning the stove and counters, doing all the laundry in the house, and not watching the NFL. Since it feels disrespectful somehow to make anything unhealthy in an immaculate home, like it’d throw off the life detox vibe I’ve worked so hard for, making a healthy-ish soup with leftovers for Monday’s lunch is how I complete the cycle and go to sleep on Sunday content.

This soup is one of my pseudo-originals in that I definitely made it up, but I can only call it an original because I haven’t really looked to see if anyone else has ever made it. It’s made appearances in the rotation upwards of 25 times since last year, typically in the Instant Pot with the chicken still half-frozen, often after the heavy-duty work travel I did in my previous life. While I still love that version of the recipe for a number of reasons (ease, forgiveness, nostalgic yearning for my old life), there are some times where cooking on the stove just seems more appropriate to my psychological needs. To convert it, I borrowed from my more traditional chicken noodle recipe that I only ever make on the stove, and now have my new favorite way to make this particular soup.

The reason is the ho-made broth, which creates itself while it cooks the chicken with the help of a small boost from Better than Bouillon. Skin-on onions and garlic are what give it its golden color and rich flavor without being oniony or garlicky; the celery, sans carrot, makes the broth more clear and astringent than sweet. The chicken itself, being thighs, braises during the cook time and becomes very tender. The noodles are small and subtle, an old school Chicken with Stars for adults. Kale makes it very Green with a capital G.

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RECIPE

Chicken soup for the detoxified soul. Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs are simmered with skin-on onions, unpeeled garlic, and aromatics to create a rich homemade golden stock, creating a base for a cozy-healthy soup loaded with shredded chicken, tender noodles, and lacinato kale.

Effortful time: 15 minutes

Total time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Serves: 4, but can be easily doubled

YOU NEED

  • 1 yellow onion, sliced, with the skin wrapper on

  • 4 cloves of garlic, smashed but unpeeled

  • 1 3/4 lbs bone in, skin-on chicken thighs (don’t use boneless here!)

  • 2 ribs chopped celery, or 2 tbsp dried celery flakes — you drain it out, so dried is just fine

  • 1 bay leaf

  • 2 tsp. salt

  • 1 tsp. black peppercorns

  • 10 cups warm water

  • 1 tsp. chicken better than bouillon, for a little boost

  • 1 bunch chopped kale or other sturdy green

  • 1 cup Israeli pearl couscous

MAKE IT

  1. Start your stock. Put the halved onion, smashed garlic, chicken, better than bouillon, celery, bay leaf, salt, and peppercorns into a large Dutch oven or stock pot. Cover with the water. Bring to a boil uncovered over medium-high heat. This could take about 20-25 minutes.

  2. Simmer your stock. Lower to a simmer and simmer, partially covered, for an hour. The broth should gradually become golden from the onion skins, a little shimmery from the chicken fat, and very fragrant from everything else.

  3. Take the chicken out. When your hour is up, remove the chicken to a board and tent with foil.

  4. Strain your stock. Put a fine mesh strainer over a clean pot, about 5 qt. Drain the broth from one pot to the other. Toss the solids.

  5. Add your other ingredients to the stock. Taste the broth and correct for salt. Add the pearl couscous and kale and stir to combine. Heat the broth over medium-low heat.

  6. Shred the chicken. Over on your chicken board, take off the skin and carefully shred it from the bones. I like to use a fork to anchor with a pair of tongs to pull the meat apart.

  7. Finalize your soup. Throw the shredded chicken back in the soup and discard the bones and skin. Continue cooking until the pearl couscous has cooked through and the kale is soft and wilted, about 8 minutes total.

  8. Serve it up. Ladle into bowls with a few cracks of fresh pep.