Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

(recipe, Caroline Cummins)

Introduction

If you have all day, it's nice to be able to simmer an entire chicken down for soup. But if you're trying to get dinner on the table pronto — and you happen to have, say, some Thanksgiving turkey or rotisserie chicken leftovers sitting around in the fridge — this is a fast and satisfying dish.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery ribs, diced
1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
½ tsp. dried thyme leaves (optional)
2 qt. low-sodium chicken broth
8 oz. dried linguine, broken into thirds
2 cups chopped cooked chicken pieces
Salt and pepper, to taste
Minced fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, for garnish (optional)

Steps

Put the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot and turn the heat to medium. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent and the carrots and celery slightly softened. Add the garlic and thyme, if using, and stir for another minute or so. Add the broth, cover, and bring to a low simmer. Cook for about 15 to 20 minutes.
While the soup is simmering, bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the broken linguine and cook until the pasta is al dente; drain in a colander and rinse with cold water.
Check to see if the soup vegetables are done to your liking, then add the chopped chicken and cooked pasta to warm through. Season to taste and serve, garnished with the parsley if you like.