Homemade Chicken and Stars Soup

First, take care of your leeks! Leeks are filled with dirt, but it’s so simple to clean it! Cut the leeks into the about 1/2 inch pieces and simply dump them in a bowl of cold water. Let them swim in there for about 20 minutes. The sand and dirt should sink to the bottom! Prep the rest of your veggies during this time. I made little fancy carrot stars to go with the noodles but this isn’t easy and I spent two weeks just on carving vegetables in culinary school. Don’t feel like a dunce if you can’t or don’t have time to do that!

Now is a good time to get started on those noodles! In a large bowl combine the flour and salt. Make a well/hole in the flour, like the center of a volcano and crack the eggs into the hole. Now use your hands to mash the eggs and flour together making a coarse and crumbly mixture. Add the water. Mix again until you have a nice, stiff dough. I like to knead the dough a few minutes to get it nice and smooth. You may need to dust it with a little flour to keep it from sticking to your hands. When you are satisfied with your ball of noodle dough cover it with plastic wrap and allow to rest for about 20 minutes in the fridge.

While they are hanging out in the fridge, you can start working on the soup. Now, you can saute the leeks in the butter and oil. Just saute them until they are soft and then add the garlic cloves, carrots, and celery. With a wooden spoon saute and stir them for about a minute in the butter and then proceed to add the chicken/veggie stock, bay leaf, and water. Let it simmer and fetch your noodles that are hanging out in your fridge.

After the dough has rested, lay it on a lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin (or my personal favorite, a wine bottle!) roll the dough out thinner than pie crust. Fancy shmancy noodles are made from rolling the dough out until it is almost see-through, but I am not that dedicated. Here, you can make real noodles by using a knife or pizza cutter or do what I did and cut out stars or any other cool cookie cutter shapes you’ve got laying around.

To cook the noodles, drop them in the boiling broth of the soup. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the noodles are tender enough for eating. You can dump the pre-cooked chicken in once the noodles are ready. I would not recommend adding it early on because it can over cook the meat and make it dry. Yes, even swimming in soup, chicken can get dry.

This bowl of soup will give “Campbell’s” a run for their money!