Chicken noodle soup

One of everyone’s favourite comfort foods. As long as you’ve got a decent chicken, you can't really go wrong. Try adding seasonal veg and enhancing the stock with slightly more luxurious ingredients, such as saffron or sweet ginger vinegar.

SERVES 6         COOKS IN    1H 40M         DIFFICULTY  NOT TOO TRICKY

Ingredients

• 1 celery heart
• 200 g small carrots
• 100 g baby leeks
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 200 g small onions
• 5 cm piece of ginger
• 1 x 1.4 kg whole free-range chicken
• 2-3 fresh bay leaves
• 1 handful of fresh parsley stalks
• dry sherry
• 1 pinch of saffron
• sweet ginger vinegar , optional
• 300 g mixed fine pasta shapes

Method

1. Roughly chop the celery heart, peel and trim the carrots and trim the leeks. Peel the garlic, onions and ginger, keeping them whole.
2. Place into a very large saucepan with the chicken, bay leaves and parsley stalks. Season well with sea salt and black pepper and add enough water to just cover the chicken (about 3 litres).
3. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 1 hour.
4. Remove everything from the pan, leaving only the stock. Throw away the herbs and ginger and once it’s cool enough to touch, shred the chicken.
5. Bring the stock back to the boil and add a good splash of sherry, the saffron and a splash of ginger vinegar (if using).
6. Add the pasta and continue to boil until the pasta is al dente.
7. Return the chicken and vegetables to the pan and simmer over low heat until they are warmed throug

Source:www.jamieoliver.com