Deborah Anziano’s chicken noodle soup includes large egg noodles.
Maddie Kertay says her Thai Soup recipe is tasty and easy to prepare.
Deborah Anziano’s chicken noodle soup includes large egg noodles.Maddie Kertay says there’s no better time for a bowl of hot soup than when the weather is cold.
And, if you step outside today you’ll discover – it’s cold. High temperature today is only in the 40s and throughout the week lows are dipping into the 20s and 30s.
“Soup is a cold-weather food,” Kertay says. “I don’t make soup much in the warm months, but soon as the weather gets cold I am all over it. Since it can often be a labor of love, being on the stove for a few hours, it adds a lot of heat to the kitchen, something I would not want in the summer but find it comforting in the winter.”
And that comfort is part of soup’s appeal, she says. “Is there anything that says ‘home’ much more than coming in the house to the smell of soup on the stove and bread in the oven?”
Even folks who find little success in cooking can master making soup, she says.
“Rarely is soup complicated,” she says, explaining that she typically makes it from scratch. “I am not much of a recipe user, more of a formula maker.”
But Chef Deborah Anziano, owner of Debo’s Kitchen, a Riceville, Tenn., business that prepares and delivers soup in the Chattanooga area, says newbies should hit the Internet before turning on the stove.
“You just need to do a little Googling,” Anziano says. “Let’s say you want to make a basic chicken noodle soup. I would start researching herbs and spices. The right combinations of herbs and spices make a world of difference in anything you’re cooking. I would look up five to 10 different recipes from old-school to modern-day.
“I just did this over New Year’s when I was looking up a soup dish I had never made called ‘Hoppin’ John.’ I didn’t just want a recipe, I wanted the history,” she says. “Sometimes if you know the history and origin of the soup, you know what herbs and spices to throw in on your own.”
Turns out soup is not only a comfort food, it can be healing. Scientific studies show that chicken soup, for example, has medicinal value.
According to a study by Dr. Stephen Rennard of the University of Nebraska Medical Center and published in the medical journal Chest, chicken soup inhibited the movement of neutrophils, the most common type of white blood cell that defends against infection. In doing so, chicken soup can reduce symptoms of a cold. While researchers couldn’t pinpoint the precise ingredient that made the soup medicinal, they theorized that a combination of vegetables and chicken somehow combine into a healthy brew.
It’s the healing properties of chicken soup that hooked Elaine Siniard of Chattanooga when she was a child. It also turned her on to loving soup in general.
“I make my soup from scratch, and I make big batches and freeze portions of them,” she says. “I make vegetable beef soup, three-pepper chicken noodle soup, potato soup, and I make red-pepper chili paste soup with chicken. I will try just about any soup. It is good for the soul, comforting and can either be healthy or unhealthy.”
Alex McGregor of Signal Mountain says he and his wife, Leslie Smith, freeze a handmade vegetable broth to use as a base for their homemade soups.
“This captures all the vitamins and minerals lost during cooking and gives you great broth,” he says. “We make all our soups from scratch – no mixes or packaged seasonings.”
While Chirag Dilip Tolia won’t be turning to chicken soup to cure a cold, he will turn to a curried soup for comfort.
“Curries are more typical, but a curry is a soup with spices, condiments and vegetables,” says Tolia, who recently moved to Atlanta from Chattanooga.
His favorite is a green lentil curry. “I have it a few times a week. It is high in protein for a vegetarian, which most vegetarians fall short of relative to meat eaters. This for me is comfort food.”
And making a big pot of soup that can be eaten over several days or frozen for later consumption is a good idea, Anziano says.
“Most soups, stew or chili are always better the second and third day, although a chicken noodle soup may not perform as well depending on the type of noodle you use,” she says. “If you use a more delicate pasta, then it is liable to break down the more times it is heated.”
To prevent this from happening, use a thicker pasta like penne or ziti pasta, or egg noodles because the added egg holds the noodles together, she says.
“You can always keep the noodles on the side and just add when serving,” she says. “When I am making my chicken noodle soup to freeze to sale to my customers, I make the soup base, cool it, then add the cooked pasta. That way, when the customer thaws it and heats it, it performs best.”
Contact Karen Nazor Hill at khill@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.
Recipes
Chicken Noodle Soup One small whole chicken 2 cups carrots 2 cups celery 1 cup sweet onion 2 teaspoons thyme 2 teaspoons parsley 2 bay leaves 6 to 10 ounces of large egg noodles Salt and pepper to taste A shake of your favorite hot sauce Cover one small whole chicken with water and boil until it’s falling off the bone. Strain the meat and bones from the stock. Separate the chicken and set aside. In a pot, add the stock plus more water if needed and cover. Cook for 15 minutes. Add the chicken. Cover. Let cook for 15 more minutes and, in the meantime, cook the egg noodles. Add the noodles when you are ready to serve. -Deborah Anziano Hoppin’ John 1 pound dried black-eyed peas (rinse and soak overnight) Lard 1 whole sweet yellow onion 1 green bell pepper 2carrots 2 gloves garlic 1 teaspoon thyme 2 tablespoons chili powder 2 bay leaves Petite diced tomatoes, to taste Water, as needed Salt and pepper, to taste Drain and rinse black-eyed peas that have been soaking. Set aside. Add all ingredients, except the peas, tomato and water, to the pot. Let cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, then add black-eyed peas, tomatoes and water. Cook over medium heat until boiling. Reduce heat. Add water as needed . As peas become tender, add salt and pepper to taste. – Deborah Anziano Green Gram Curry Soup 1 1/2 cups green gram (mung bean) 1/2 cup or 1 large chopped onion 1/2 cup or 1 large chopped tomato 1 green chili chopped, optional 1 teaspoon grated ginger or paste 1 sprig curry leaves 1/2 teaspoon cumin 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder Salt as needed Generous pinch of turmeric 3/4 teaspoon coriander powder or garam masala powder Few coriander leaves for garnish 1/2 to 3/4 cup water 2 teaspoons coconut or any oil 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds, optional Wash and soak green gram for at least 4 to 6 hours. Heat a pot with oil, add cumin, when it begins to splutter, add ginger and curry leaves. Fry till the ginger smells good. Add onions, green chili, sprinkle salt and fry till transparent. Add tomato, salt and turmeric. Fry till the tomatoes blend well with onions and turn mushy. Add green gram, red chili powder, coriander powder. Mix and fry for about 2 minutes. Add water just enough to cook them. Cook till the green gram is tender. Garnish with coriander leaves. – indianhealthyrecipes.com Thai Soup 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth 2 15-ounce cans full-fat coconut milk 1 tablespoon fish sauce, plus more to taste 2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced 1-2 cans sliced water chestnuts 4 plus ounces thin rice noodles, broken into pieces 1 bag frozen, raw, shelled and deveined shrimp 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, plus more to taste 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro Add oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook gently, stirring, 1 to 2 minutes, add shrimp and cook until almost done. Add the broth, coconut milk and fish sauce; making sure not to boil. Add the bell peppers and noodles and simmer. Don’t boil until the noodles are al dente, about 1-3 minutes at most. Stir in the lime juice and garnish with cilantro if desired. – Maddie Kertay