Winging It

If I had any idea of the exact measurements of this recipe then I would put it in recipe form for you. But I just kind of threw stuff together so I will give you the general idea and you can get creative on your own.

Dave brought home one of those rotisserie chickens from the grocery store the other night. We had a good amount left over so I decided I wanted to make some soup, but wasn't in the mood for plain old chicken noodle soup. I wanted kind of a Mexican, Asian spicy soup with rice noodles because it's been hot outside lately. So here's what I did.

Chicken Noodle Soup with an Asian Flair

Serves 2-4

For the Broth

1 Whole chicken carcass

1 cup chicken broth

Water

1 onions, chopped into large pieces

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 cloves garlic, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 tbsp Better than Bullion or 1 chicken bullion cube

1/2 tsp Cumin

1/2 tsp Chipoltle chili powder

Salt

Fresh ground pepper

Pinch of Red pepper flakes

Additional Chicken (optional)

2 chicken thighs

1 tbsp Olive oil

1/2 tsp Cumin

1/2 tsp Chipotle chili powder

1 tsp Dried basil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Soup

Chicken from the carcass

1 tbsp Better than Bullion or 1 bullion cube (more or less to your taste)

1 lemon

1 onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1 can sliced water chestnuts

4 oz Asian egg noodles

2 cups Baby leaf spinach

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sprouts, cilantro and hot sauce for garnish

Take a large soup pot and place the chicken carcass in the pot with 1 cup of chicken broth and top with water until the chicken is covered with liquid. Add 2 stalks of celery, 1 onion and 1 clove of garlic. Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste, the bay leaf, chipoltle chili powder and cumin and bring it to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let it cook for 45 minutes to an 1 hour, until the chicken is falling off the bone. Near the end I put some red pepper flakes in the pot to give it some spice.

I like a little more chicken in my soup, so if you like, take two chicken thighs, place them in a baking dish, brush them with olive oil, salt, fresh ground pepper, cumin, chipoltle chili powder and basil and bake in the oven at 400 degrees. Let the chicken brown, while basting it as the juices start to develop, about 45 minutes. Cover the chicken with foil and let it cook for another 15-20 minutes until chicken reaches 165 degrees, using an instant thermometer to check. (You can skip this step if you feel you have enough chicken from your carcass)

After your carcass is finished boiling, place a colander into another pot and drain the broth from the soup pot to remove the solids. The vegetables will be all mushy and you wont want to use them. Put the chicken on a plate to let it cool before removing the meat from the bone. Put the liquid back in the big pot. Add salt and bullion to taste, juice of 1 lemon, and the onion and garlic. Bring it back to a boil, put the lid on and let it simmer for 20 minutes, until the onion starts to soften. Add the can of sliced water chestnuts and all of the chicken and let simmer for another 5 minutes.

Use Asian noodles as directed on the package, adding to your soup pot or cooking separately. If you cook separately, put the noodles large serving bowls, add the baby leaf spinach on top of the noodles, spoon broth and chicken over the noodles and spinach, then top with spouts and cilantro. Add red pepper flakes and some Saracha hot sauce or Cholula and maybe a dash of soy sauce.

I've been really into Rose lately, and not the sweet stuff. We just got the new 2009 Charles & Charles Rose in the shop. It is flippin awesome. It's made by Charles Smith and he is partnered with Charles Bieler www.bielerandsmith.com. If you can find it anywhere in your neck of the woods (probably can find it somewhere in Washington, since it's Washington wine), you need to try it. It's 100% Syrah, not sweet at all, nice tannins and as they describe it...like a swimming pool filled with watermelon Jolly Ranchers. And the best part of all is that it's only around $15!

Paired perfectly with the spices in the soup. Delish!