Recipe: Amish Chicken and Corn Soup

AMISH CHICKEN AND CORN SOUP

The Amish are known to be frugal and wise guardians of their resources, so we put together a soup that uses even the corn cobs, for added flavor. You'll love the extra corniness and will feel righteous when serving this delectable meal in a bowl.

1/4 cup unsalted butter (50 mL)
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 parsnips, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme (5 mL)
1 teaspoon salt (5 mL)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (1 mL)
1 bay leaf
3 cobs corn, corn kernels cut from cob and cobs reserved
1 whole chicken (about 3 pounds/1.5 kg), rinsed, or 3 pounds (1.5 kg) skinless chicken thighs
8 cups chicken stock (2 L)
8 ounces wide dried egg noodles, uncooked (250 g)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (45 mL)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (25 mL)
1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley (50 mL)
Additional minced fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley (for garnish)

In a large pot, heat butter over medium heat. Add onion and saute until softened, about 6 minutes.

Add carrots, parsnips, celery, thyme, salt, pepper and bay leaf; saute until vegetables start to soften, about 5 minutes.

Add corn cobs, chicken and stock. If chicken isn't immersed, add water or stock to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Partially cover, reduce heat to low and simmer gently until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a breast registers 170 degrees F (75C), about 45 minutes. Skim the soup if any scum develops on the surface.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook egg noodles according to package directions until tender to the bite. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking; drain well. Set aside.

Using tongs, transfer chicken to a large plate and let cool slightly. Remove corn cobs from the soup and discard. Remove skin and bones from chicken and discard. Shred the meat into bite-size pieces.

Return chicken to the pot and add corn kernels; bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until corn is tender, about 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine flour and butter until a paste forms. Stir into soup and simmer, stirring often, until soup is thickened, about 3 minutes.

Stir in noodles and parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary. Discard bay leaf. Ladle into heated bowls and garnish with parsley.

TIP:
If you won't be able to finish this soup in one sitting, we recommend adding the noodles to the serving bowls instead of the soup. When a soup with noodles sits overnight, the noodles absorb lots of the stock and become mushy. Just divide the noodles among the serving bowls and ladle the soup on top. Store the soup and noodles separately in the refrigerator.

Serves 6 to 8
Source: 300 Sensational Soups by Carla Snyder and Meredith Deeds