A comforting and nutritious chicken soup to fend off the winter blues

One chicken goes a long way with this classic recipe reminiscent of mum’s cooking.

Fragrant chicken noodle soup from The Simple Dinner Edit by Nicole Maguire. Photography: Jeremy Simons

Nicole Maguire

less than 2 min read

12:31PMJuly 22, 2024

The Weekend Australian Magazine

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Growing up, there was always a pot of this chicken soup simmering on the stove. When I made it for the first time, I had my mum on speed dial, walking me through every step. It’s a simple dish, full of goodness, made with a whole chicken and vegetables, which slowly cook until they are tender and fragrant in a golden, nutrient-filled broth. I whip this recipe out whenever anyone in the family needs a boost of energy or simply when I’m feeling like I need comfort. One chicken goes such a long way.

Try my other noodle recipes: coconut red curry noodles and Singaporean noodles with prawn.

Warming and simple: Nicole Maguire’s chicken noodle soup.

The Simple Dinner Edit by Nicole Maguire (Plum).

Fragrant chicken noodle soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 onions, finely diced
• 1 whole chicken (1.2kg-1.8kg)
• 2 large carrots, peeled and halved lengthways
• 2 celery stalks, including leaves, cut into 15cm lengths (so they are small enough to fit in the pot)
• 3 teaspoons sea salt flakes
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra to serve
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 3-4 litres water
• 100g vermicelli egg noodles
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Crusty bread, to serve

1. Heat the olive oil in a stockpot (large enough to fit the chicken) over medium heat and cook the onion for 3-5 minutes until soft. Rinse the chicken inside and out (this creates a clearer broth). Place the whole chicken in the pot, along with the carrot, celery, salt, pepper, apple cider vinegar and water – you will need enough water to just cover the chicken. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cover, with the lid slightly ajar, and cook for 1 1/2 hours or until the chicken is tender and falling off the bone.
2. The liquid should reduce by a quarter and you should be left with a deep golden broth. If not, continue cooking in 20-minute intervals.
3. Using tongs, remove the chicken, carrot and celery from the broth and set aside on a plate. (You can strain the broth if you wish, using a sieve. It will produce a clearer broth, but the flavour of the soup will not change so you can skip this step.)
4. Shred the chicken and cut the carrot and celery into bite-sized pieces. Add the vermicelli egg noodles to the broth and cook for 10 minutes. Return the chicken, carrot and celery to the soup.
5. Discard the celery leaves. Serve the soup topped with parsley, an extra sprinkling of black pepper and some crusty bread.

Serves 4

This is an edited extract from The Simple Dinner Edit by Nicole Maguire. Photography by Jeremy Simons.