Grandma LoLo’s Chicken Noodle Soup

Unfortunately, here in Seattle the forecast calls for rain all weekend; however, the upside is that I have the perfect soup recipe to accompany the weather – Grandma Lolo’s Shaker Chicken Noodle Soup. For me, this soup is the ultimate comfort food. And its kid-friendly and delicious. 

This Shaker Chicken Noodle Soup is nostalgia in a bowl. It brings back memories of my mom’s kitchen and sitting around the table with my four siblings, warm bowls of soup and thick slices of bread. Of course, there was always bread and a fresh salad at my mom’s table. Somehow my mom would would manage to make a large pot of this chicken noodle soup between picking us all up from school and running us to our various sports practices. She would leave it on the stove for the four of us kids to eat between soccer, basketball and lacrosse. 

In February (pre-quarantine), I texted my mom this picture with the caption “Bless you, Mom. Bless you!!”:

How did my mom manage to get warm soup on the dinner table while attending countless soccer practices and games that looked like this? Admittedly, I was ready to have Sam and Emma quit soccer (and all outdoor activities) after this one practice. And there definitely was not warm soup on the stove when we finally got home after practice soaking wet and freezing cold. To this day, my mom still makes a large pot of this Shaker Chicken Noodle Soup and delivers it in mismatched Tupperware to me and my siblings. Bless you, Mom. Bless you!

SHAKER CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

INGREDIENTS

• 13 cups chicken stock*
• ¼ cup dry vermouth
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ½ pound medium egg noodles (about 4 cups)
• ¾ cup flour
• 1 ¼ cups water
• 2 cups diced cooked chicken breast
• 1 cup (or more) frozen peas, thawed
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Chopped parsley (fresh or dried)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup of the stock with the vermouth and butter. Bring to a boil and boil rapidly until liquid is reduced to about 1/4 cup. The mixture will be syrupy. Stir in the cream and set aside.
2. In a large pot, bring the remaining stock to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until just tender, about 7 to 8 minutes.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and water together until smooth and stir into the noodle mixture.
4. Allow the soup to boil for 1 to 2 minutes, then stir in the cream mixture and chicken.
5. Add thawed peas and stir until warm.
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Cover the soup, turn off the burner, and let it sit at the back of the stove until cool enough to eat.
8. Add chopped parsley (fresh or dried) to garnish.

Notes:

*The key to ensuring this soup has lots of flavor is to use high quality chicken stock (not broth!). Grandma Lolo recommends using this product:

Serve with a thick slice of bread. I recommend making this bread recipe but add one tablespoon of fresh diced fine rosemary to the dough and generous salt the top of bread dough before cooking. The bread has become a quarantine staple in our house.

A smaller version of this soup is available on King Arthur Flour’s website here. I am convinced that King Arthur somehow stole Grandma Lolo’s recipe because it is that good.