My Favorite Soup: Chicken Noodle

I could eat soup 365 days a year, and of all the soups I make, our favorite is chicken noodle. It is the epitome of comfort food: real chicken, fresh vegetables, lots and lots of thin noodles. It makes you feel good when you are sick and warms you up when you are cold. So the real test was to reproduce the same chicken soup that I usually make in a large commercial pot at home and bring it down to scale for the 6L pressure cooker. I knew if I could make my chicken soup successfully in the pressure cooker, I would have a very happy crew.

I practiced it many times at home. It was very successful and it took only 45 minutes of cooking time from the time the jigger started moving until I stopped the stove flame. How much faster than 2+ hours in the larger pot! What a richer flavor!! It is the only way I make chicken soup now.



This past April my husband and I opened our boat for the season. We spent two weeks on her, learning our new electronic equipment, programming the radio with our MMSI number, etc. We had a lot to learn and none of it was going smoothly. Everything took longer than we thought. And what complicated the entire process was that it rained 3 inches in 5 days while the temperature hovered in the 40’s with wind. We were stuck in the cabin, our bimini was in the shop, the electronic system was not reading the computer chip and we were at a really low point. One day I put down the instruction manuals that I had been trying to digest and said, “I am going to do something I KNOW HOW TO DO WELL” and I began a pot of chicken soup in the pressure cooker. Because I had practiced this recipe at home, I knew it would be delicious. I felt empowered that I could cook and do something successfully.

One hour later lunch was ready. We were warm. We took a nap, gave our brains some down time, and were able to tackle the rest of the day.


JULIE’S PRESSURE COOKER CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP RECIPE (6L POT)

1/2 whole uncooked chicken, split down the spine and breast bone

4 carrots, peeled and cut in large pieces (can use baby carrots)
1-2 stalks celery cut in 1/3’d
1 large or 2 small onions, quartered
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cube chicken bullion (I use Telma brand)

salt and pepper to taste

water to within 2” from top of pot

noodles, thin or medium, to preference

Place everything except noodles in the pot. Tighten the lid and bring to pressure. Maintain pressure with jiggler valve moving for 45 mins. Remove lid when pressure has dropped on its own accord. Discard celery. Debone the chicken, cut into small pieces and return it to the pot. Skim fat if necessary. Add noodles and bring to a simmer uncovered, until the noodles are done.