Chicken soup is just what the doctor ordered during the cold New England winter as our homes and sinuses get pelted with one cold virus after another. We call this classic chicken soup our “Monday Night” soup because it’s easy, healthful and satisfying: the culinary antidote to almost everything about a Monday. The whole thing comes together in less than an hour of cook time , most of which is hands off. You can set it to simmer while you catch up on the laundry that was neglected over the weekend; or, as you oversee that night’s homework showdown. It’s a savory, deeply flavorful chicken soup that can be enjoyed as-is or bulked up with pasta, rice or any grain you like.
MONDAY NIGHT CHICKEN SOUP
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium-sized onion, diced
2 medium or one large-sized carrot(s), peeled and diced
3-4 stalks celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. fresh turmeric root*, grated (optional)
1 tsp. fresh ginger*, grated (optional)
2 32-oz. containers of chicken stock or bone broth; or, 8-10 cups homemade
1 package boneless, skinless chicken thighs**
Salt and pepper
Grain or noodles of your choice***
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, carrot and celery, salting and peppering after each addition. Seasoning every step builds flavor and makes a soup with nice depth. Add garlic, ginger and turmeric (if using) and stir well to coat. Pour in stock, season with another addition of salt and pepper and bring up to a simmer. Gently slide chicken thighs into the simmering water. Turn heat up just a touch to bring it back up to a simmer and then reduce heat to low. Let cook slowly over low heat for about 45 minutes to an hour. The chicken thighs should be thoroughly cooked and starting to fall apart.
Use tongs to pull one chicken thigh from the pot and try to shred it using two forks. It should come apart very easily, if it does not, return it to the pot and let the chicken cook for another 5-10 minutes. If it’s ready, remove all of the thighs from the soup onto a large cutting board and shred into bite sized pieces. Return the shredded chicken to the pot. Taste the soup and season again with salt and pepper if needed. We want our soup to be very flavorful, so know that a pinch of salt is not a tiny little pinch but a big, three finger pinch. Same with the pepper. Don’t be afraid, with simple soups, seasoning at every stage is key to building flavor.
To serve: scoop rice, pasta or farro into a bowl and ladle soup over. Garnish with chopped fresh herbs if desired (flat leaf parsley or snipped chives are both nice); or, a heaping grating of salty parmesan cheese and some fresh cracked pepper.
*Turmeric and ginger storage / prep tip: store ginger and turmeric root in your freezer. When ready to use, grate the frozen root using a microplane grater (or the finest side of a box grater), no need to peel. We learned this trick from Boston-based chef Joanne Chang’s cookbook and it works fantastic and makes it easy to have fresh ginger and turmeric on hand at all times.
**If you don’t like chicken thighs, you can use breasts. However: you will want to make sure you are cooking them on the lowest heat possible so they don’t get rubbery. Breasts will cook faster than thighs and they will not shred as easily, so you will have to remove them from the soup and dice them. Also, a full package of thighs produces a lot of chicken — if you’d like, save half of the chicken for making sandwiches, quesadillas or tacos the next day and only use half in the finished soup.
***We use either Ditalini pasta or farro, depending on what’s in the pantry. You can use any type of pasta shape or rice that you’d like. Prepare according to package instructions (al dente for pasta which means undercooked by a minute or two) and hold separately from soup until ready to serve.
BEVERAGE PAIRING SUGGESTIONS:
Chicken soup is pure, liquid comfort, deeply savory and approachable; it pairs with crowd-pleasing wines that are the same. Because of the added richness of chicken thighs, this soup matches perfectly with either a red or white wine. For a white, chicken soup is a natural match with mom’s favorite grape: chardonnay. For a classic American chard, we love the Sean Minor California Series 2021 Chardonnay with its flavors of ripe peach, toasted pears and crisp granny smith apples. For a white that’s a little more off the beaten path, the Guidobono Roero Arneis 2022 is a Northern Italian white that’s bright and easy drinking with flavors of stone fruits and notes of white flowers.
Our top pick for a red is a bright, buoyant Oregon Pinot Noir, like the Violet Hill Rouge Valley Pinot Noir 2022. This wine has a super pretty nose marked by aromas of rose petals, wild raspberries and a hint of earth. Nicely balanced and on the lighter side, this is a bottle that works terrific with this soup (and honestly almost anything). As for beer, we think the bright aromatics and crisp-bitter profile of a pale ale works best and our friends at Untold Brewing in Scituate make a great one. The Untold 143 Pale Ale is a West Coast style pale: which means it’s hop-forward on the nose with moderate bitterness on the palate marked by flavors of juicy orange and mango. Crisp and snappy it will match nicely with the savory flavor of this chicken soup.