This straightforward chicken noodle soup captures the essence of traditional comfort food, featuring a robust tomato base. The dish draws inspiration from mbakbaka, a Libyan pasta recipe that resembles minestrone.
To prepare the soup, you begin by browning bone-in chicken, followed by sautéing aromatics, tomato paste, and spices, allowing everything to simmer together.
Near the end of cooking, you incorporate a short tubular pasta, like tubetti or ditalini, which adds substance to the soup, along with any preferred vegetables such as frozen peas and carrots. For me, that creates the ideal bowl.
Ingredients
- 4 (approximately 600 g) bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 1½ tsp salt, divided
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- ¾ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ cup tomato paste
- 6 cups water
- 2 bay leaves
- 150 g tubetti or ditalini pasta
- 2 cups frozen peas and carrots (optional)
- ¼ cup finely minced parsley
- ½ cup grated Parmesan
Preparation
Sprinkle the chicken thighs with ½ teaspoon of salt.
In a Dutch oven or medium saucepan, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Place the chicken in the pot skin side down, cooking until golden, about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken and continue cooking until browned on the other side, around 3 minutes. Remove the chicken and set it aside.
In the same pot, cook the onion until it becomes translucent and golden, which should take about 5 to 7 minutes.
Introduce the garlic, turmeric, chili powder, black pepper, the remaining teaspoon of salt, and tomato paste, cooking while stirring constantly until the garlic releases its aroma and the tomato paste darkens, approximately 15 to 30 seconds.
Place the chicken back into the pot. Pour in 6 cups of water and add the bay leaves. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover and let it simmer on medium-low heat for 30 to 40 minutes.
Adjust the seasoning with salt to taste, and add water if the broth needs thinning.
Take the chicken out of the pot, remove the skin and bones, and shred the meat into bite-sized pieces using two forks. Return the shredded chicken to the pot.
Add the pasta and frozen vegetables, if using, and stir everything together. Bring it back to a simmer and cook for an additional 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom.
Serve the soup in bowls, garnished with parsley and Parmesan.
Serves 6
Produced in collaboration with CBC Creator Network.