Mark McEwan: This chicken soup recipe will get you through winter

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This article was published 06/11/2021 (1749 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Every Saturday, Chef Mark McEwan, one of Canada’s most celebrated chefs, serves up everything you need for a special weekend meal, including a recipe and expert at-home cooking tips.

Who doesn’t love perfect chicken noodle soup? My mother would always save the scraps from a big roast chicken dinner and prepare a soup the next day. This was always a treat and, as a child, I preferred it to the original meal. The resonance of childhood memories combined with refined technique make this soup a special event.

I’d serve this dish with toasted bread or, even better, charred bread off the grill with lots of charred edges — don’t be shy. Rub lightly with a garlic clove and butter, or brush with olive oil.

Chef tips:

1. Take your time with the stock, as it’s the base of the dish. Have patience with your seasonings. Salt and pepper are always best adjusted at the end.

2. When portioning the soup for serving, make sure to evenly portion the solid ingredients. A small spider strainer will assist with this task and can be used in 100 ways in your kitchen for general use.

3. If you’d like to add more vegetables, I’m a fan of green beans in season and peas. (The peas can be frozen — that’s perfectly fine.) I would steer clear of beets as they bleed their colour into the soup.

Chicken Noodle Soup

1 celery stalk, sliced

1 large carrot, peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced

8 pearl onions, unpeeled

1/4 lb (125 g) dry pasta of choice

2 quarts (2 L) white or dark chicken stock

1/2 roast chicken, skinned, and shredded (about 2 cups/500 ml)

1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped parsley

Pinch each of salt and pepper

Blanch celery until just tender, then shock in ice water. Drain. Repeat with carrots. Blanch pearl onions until soft; shock in ice water. Trim off the root end, then squeeze hard between thumb and forefinger so that the separate layers of onion pop out the bottom. Cook pasta, drain, and shock in cold water to stop the cooking.

In a large pot, bring stock to a boil. Add chicken and vegetables; heat through. Correct seasonings. Add pasta. Ladle soup into warm bowls; sprinkle with parsley. Serves 4.

Roast chicken

1 tbsp (15 mL) sage, rosemary and parsley, finely minced and combined

1 tbsp (15 mL) soft butter

1 top-quality chicken, 2 1/2 to 3 lb (1.25 to 1.5kg)

1/2 tsp sweet paprika

Salt

3 tbsp (45 mL) olive oil

1 sprig thyme

1/2 lemon, grilled until lightly charred

2 cloves garlic, smashed

1/2 cup (125 mL) chicken jus

Preferably 24 hours in advance, combine herbs and butter and massage into the skin of the chicken on all sides. Sprinkle with paprika. Place on a rack and set aside in the refrigerator.

Set one rack in the lower third of the oven and another in the middle. Preheat oven to 425 F (220 C). Salt chicken generously inside and out. In a skillet just large enough to accommodate the bird, heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown the bird lightly on all sides. Place it breast side up on a roasting rack; carefully stuff thyme, lemon, and garlic into the cavity. Set the rack in a roasting pan, add the oil from the skillet to it. Place in the centre of the oven.

After 15 minutes, baste the bird, and lower the heat to 350 F (180C). After another 20 minutes, baste again. After a total of 45 minutes, test the bird for doneness. Check if juices run clear from a pierced thigh or if the internal temperature of the breast has reached 160 F (70C). Allow to rest 15 minutes before carving.

Chicken stock

10 lb (4.5 kg) chicken bones, cut into pieces and weII-rinsed

3 medium Spanish onions, very coarsely chopped

2 large carrots, very coarsely chopped

1/2 bunch celery, very coarsely chopped

1/2 bunch thyme

1/2 bunch parsley without leaves (or 1/4 bunch with leaves)

4 bay leaves

1 tbsp (15 mL) black peppercorn

In a stock pot, cover bones generously with cold water — about 15 quarts (15 L). Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer; skim the scum from the surface. Add the remaining ingredients. Simmer, uncovered, for at least 3 hours and up to overnight. Continue to skim scum as it rises and replenish water as needed. Strain stock, chill, then skim fat from the surface. Keeps for about 1 week in the fridge and about 6 months in the freezer. Makes 12 quarts (12 L).

Chef Mark McEwan is a Toronto-based chef, entrepreneur, mentor and writer of bestselling cookbooks. He is a freelance contributor for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @chef_MarkMcEwan