Home made chicken noodle soup

I always loved it when my dad made his chicken noodle soup. So light and filling and yummy. Now that I make it myself I love it for many reasons - because it reminds me of home, because it makes a bucketload of soup (very economical), because it is so easy to make, and because it is good for you! These days I tend to make the soup, and then use the poached chicken for salads or in other dishes. I have the veggies and broth with noodles.

One pot of soup makes many many dishes.

Home made chicken noodle soup

1 whole chicken
3 carrots sliced
2 parsnips sliced (we do lengthways quarters, just a family thing)

1 onion diced
1 garlic finely chopped
water to cover
1 tbs chopped fresh parsley (optional)

salt and pepper to taste
egg noodles for serving

Cook onion on a low heat until translucent in a big old soup/stock pot.  Pile all the other veggies in. Sit the whole chicken on top. Cover with water. Bring to boil and then lower the heat and simmer for about 50mins - 1 hr or until the chicken is falling off the bone. Adjust your seasoning of salt and pepper to taste. Remove chicken. Use a paper towel to skim any fat/froth from top of soup. You can then either shred the meat and return to the pot or use the poached chicken in other dishes.

Serve soup with freshly cooked egg vermicelli noodles.

Makes about 10-12 bowls of soup, freezes well (sans noodles), and lasts in the fridge for days.

Paprikás csirke (Paprika Chicken)

paprika chicken, served with kluski/gnocchi and snow peas.

Paprika chicken is one of those simply yet amazingly tasty dishes. It is heavy in sour cream, so it's really not an everyday food, but it is a fantastic dish for a birthday treat! Seeing as I just had one of those, I had to celebrate and spoil myself :)

Real Hungarian paprika - that is, paprika grown and produced in Hungary - gives the best, most intense flavour and colour. If you can't get that, Hungarian-style will do.

I like to serve it with a little bit of green crunchy veg for texture - and snowpeas are my absolute fav for that!. makes for a lovely vibrant dish as well.

Ingredients

1 chicken, jointed (ask your butcher or use the equivalent in size of wings and legs from the supermarket) - keep the meat on the bone, it improves the flavour.
2 onions finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons of sweet paprika
1 tub sour cream
salt to taste

noodles to serve

Method

• Cook onions in a casserole dish in a little bit of olive oil until translucent.
• Add in meat and brown skin.
• Add in the paprika.
• Cover the chicken with water so that it is *just* covered - the more liquid, the runnier the sauce will be.
• Place in a oven at 180 degrees C and cook for 40mins-1hr until the meat is tender and falling off the bone.
• take out of oven, and add in sour cream, a bit at at time, until you get the flavour balance you are looking for. Season to taste.

Serve over noodles.

Chicken paprika stuffed capsicum

Chicken Paprika Stuffed Capsicums

serves 4

4 large red capsicums
400g chicken mince
1 onion finely chopped
2 tbs paprika
2 cups cooked rice
3 tbs sour cream

Lightly cook onion in a pan till translucent. Add in chicken and cook briefly till meat changes colour. Add in paprika and stir through. Place in a bowl with the rice and sour cream, mix through. Set the pan aside to use to cook the sauce. (see next recipe)

Cut tops of the capsicums, stuff with the stuffing. Put the top back on, and place capsicums in a lightly oiled baking pan. Bake for 40 mins or until the capsicums are soft and tender at 180 degrees C. Serve with a dollop of paprika sauce.

Paprika Sauce

2 cups chicken stock - salt-reduced if possible
2tbs paprika
2 tbs sour cream

Pour chicken stock in pan to deglaze. Heat until warm, add in paprika. Add the sour cream and stir till combined. Reduce down to a gravy-like consistency.

Note: You can make a vegetarian version of this by substituting the chicken with coursely chopped portabella mushroom, and reducing the amount of paprika you use in the stuffing mix.