Shortcut chicken soup

This chicken soup uses a few shortcuts like rotisserie chicken and store-bought broth to speed up the process, but gets extra oomph from plenty of aromatics, a little extra cooking oil, and teeny tiny pasta cooked right in the broth. A poached egg on top adds even more richness and depth.

Take me to the soup!

I originally called this “Quick and rich chicken soup,” but it sounded too much like a country band. However, the moniker still applies because this guy is indeed quite rich and quite quick (for a soup that tastes this good, that is!).

I’m not a huge fan of the chicken broth that comes in a box or a can. I mean, it’s fine as a replacement for water when cooking grains and beans, but for soup? It’s a little thin and bland for me. But, I don’t always have homemade stock in the freezer or the wherewithal to make it. (But if I do, this is my recipe!)

To spice and thicken it up, I use any combination of these:

• Butter: Adding a little extra cooking fat when you start sautéing your aromatics adds richness to the final product.

• Tiny pasta: The teenier the better! Orzo, stelline, ditalini, anilline, or any other pasta that’s about the size of a pencil eraser works perfectly. When cooked in the broth, the starch from the pasta thickens the broth significantly.

• Cheese: Adding some grated cheese at the end is one strategy, but tossing in the leftover rind of any hard cheese adds salt, depth, and richness.

• Salt: This might sound weird because a lot of canned and boxed broths have A LOT of salt in them, but if you use the unsalted or low salt variety, be sure to add enough salt back in.

• Poached egg: When the soup is done, adding a poached egg on top enriches it even more!

In this soup, I used pasta and a poached egg to give it a rich, silky texture. I included a range for the amount of liquid to add depending on how much liquid you like in your soup. Six cups makes the soup very thick, eight cups make it less so.

Shortcut chicken soup

2 Tbsp olive oil 
1 small onion, diced 
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced (heaping ½ cup)
1 small stalk celery, diced (scant ½ cup)
6 large fresh sage leaves 
½ tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf 
1 tsp kosher salt
Black pepper to taste 
6-8 cups chicken stock
1 cup tiny pasta 
1-2 cups shredded, precooked chicken
Serving sugggestions: 
Poached egg, parmesan cheese, more seasonin to taste

Time: About 45 minutes, mostly active
Yield: About 6-8 cups of soup, depending on how much water and chicken you add

Heat the olive oil in a large, deep pot over medium high heat. Add the minced onion, carrot, and celery and cook, stirring frequently, until the veggies begin to brown and the onions are translucent, about 6-8 minutes. 

Add the sage and thyme and cook until fragrant, about one minute.

Add the bay leaf, salt, pepper, and chicken stock and mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. 

While the soup simmers, shred the chicken and set aside.

Bring back to a boil and add the pasta. Cook according to package directions until al dente. 

Add the shredded chicken and stir. 

Green matzo ball chicken soup

Guys. It's almost Passover, which means, it's matzo ball season. I could eat matzo ball soup daily, but I always want it to feel like a MEAL and it often…doesn’t. There's usually just some broth and the balls. Occasionally you get a carrot or some celery, but there's not much to it. The consequence is that I take 100 years to order in a deli or a diner. I always want the soup, but what else do you get if you don’t want a bad diner salad, but want something with protein and veggies, but that isn't a full meal because you already have soup? CONUNDRUM. I think it might be the thing my husband hates most about me.

Anyway, I think the key to making a great matzo ball is in the timing: Once the matzo meal, fat, seltzer, eggs, salt, and pepper have been mixed together, this gloop needs to REST. I’ve rested the mixture for anywhere from 1-5 hours and I think the longer the better (without going crazy and leaving it, like, overnight).

I also suggest really beating the eggs well with a whisk or a fork. Make your wrist tired. You want the whites and yolks to be very well integrated to help keep the balls together.

Also, the seltzer is ABSOLUTELY necessary.

And a note about salt: I like my matzo balls salty, so if 3 tsp is too much for you, dial it back a bit.

So! This recipe is a long one and definitely best for a weekend or occasion. But there are many places where one could take shortcuts (use pre-made stock, rotisserie chicken, and pre-chopped kale and this is a much quicker process.) On the upside, this soup can actually pass for lunch or dinner, so if you put the time in, you get a rounded meal that's appealing to young (M) and old (me.) M has finally accepted eating leaves of green and not just in puree form, so he's into this soup.

I pureed my first batch to see how it went and it was delicious, but stringy and needed straining. The stringiness of the chives and kale stalks even made ME whip out the strainer and I avoid extra dishes like the plague.

Green matzo ball soup

For the stock:
6-7 lbs chicken (some combo of bone-in, skin-on chicken parts)
2 celery ribs, roughly chopped
2 large carrots, roughly chopped
1 large onion, roughly chopped
5-6 garlic cloves, smashed
1 bay leaf
Whatever herbs you have/like (I usually toss in a handful of fresh sage and a tsp of dried thyme)
1 Tbsp kosher salt
Lots of pepper
12 cups water (or more; make sure the chicken and veggies are fully submerged in water and replenish if too much evaporates while simmering)

Add all of the ingredients to a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 3 hours.

When stock is done, strain and collect all liquid. You should have anywhere from 9-12 cups (give or take depending on your cooking method and how much water evaporates).

Save the chicken meat, but discard the rest of the aromatics, veggies, and any skin or bones that were floating in the stock.

In separate containers, store the broth and the chicken in the fridge, covered, for at least 6 hours, or until the fat rises to the top and congeals. I usually leave it overnight. When cooled, skim the fat from the top and store in a separate container to use in the matzo balls.

For the matzo balls:
3 large eggs, well-beaten
3 Tbsp schmaltz or olive oil (I use the rendered fat from the chicken stock and top it off with olive oil if necessary)
3 Tbsp seltzer
3 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 cup matzo meal

Whisk the eggs very well. Combine all wet ingredients, plus salt and pepper, in a bowl and mix well. Add the matzo meal and stir well. If it feels lumpy or hard to stir, use your hands.

Cover and chill for at least 1 hour, but ideally 2-3.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

When chilled, form the dough into 12-16 golfball-sized balls using wet hands and drop each into the boiling water as soon as it’s formed. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, for 40 minutes.

For the soup:
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 small shallots, minced
1 stalk celery. minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chives, chopped
3 cups kale, chopped and well packed
Salt and pepper
8-9 cups chicken stock (if not making your own chicken stock, try to find homemade from somewhere else- don’t use the stuff in a box from the store for this)
1 Tbsp
Shredded chicken (about 3 cups or whatever comes off of your cooked chicken from the stock)

Heat the oil in a large stock pot. Add the roughly chopped shallot and celery. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, kale, and chives and cook, stirring, about 3 minutes more.

Add the stock and water and bring to a boil. Turn the flame to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes more to reheat. Test for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.

Pour soup over the matzo balls and serve.

Yield: