Pesto Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup...It goes with the change in the weather

This is Virginia and the weather has changed again. It is wet and cold here at the beach. A great day to bake bread and make a big pot of soup. That is were I started this morning. The number one request was for Chicken Noodle. Today, in the cold and rain I put a new twist on the chicken noodle of your childhood memories. There was a brief intention to make a crusty loaf of french bread to go along with my soup for dinner. It was dashed when my oven began beeping and a message flashed across its LED screen telling me to call a repair man. The bread will have to be for the next cold winter day.

Soup should start with a good sweat of aromatic vegetable. I love to start with sweet onions and celery. I prefer to sweat the mirepoix for soup as it cuts down on the need for added oil. To the mirepoix adding fresh herbs or a mixture of dried herbs and spices helps to infuse the flavor through out the the soup through the broth.

My go to vegetables no matter what the soup. If it is in the stock pot these four things will be there nicely diced and ready to build a better soup.

Prepare the basil pesto or a pistou...made for soup.In a food processor add garlic, sea salt, fresh basil leaves and ground black pepper. To this add 1/4 cup olive oil to bring it all together.

Blend  and add additional oil a Tablespoon at a time if needed to create the paste. Above see the beginning of the puree step.

This has the right amount of oil but needs further puree.

The perfect consistency for a Pistou to be added to soup, season the chicken and garnish the finished soup.

Baste 3 large chicken breast with pistou. Roast at 375 for 45 minutes.

The aromatic vegetables are used to start  the sweat process. Flavor is added to the soup  with  a heaping Tablespoon of pistou.  Just enough chicken broth is added so you can see it peek through the celery and onions. At this stage you do not want you vegetables to float.

Next, add the carrots and potato to the stock pot and stir into the translucent onions and celery. 

Once the root vegetables have been added cover the ingredients completely with stock. Here you want enough stock for the veggies just to float. Simmer until potatoes and carrots are just tender..

Roasted Pesto Chicken after  baking.

Dice the chicken in fat pieces(  because I have boys that want to know the protein is in there).

To finish this soup the meat is added and most of the  remaining ( reserve about 1 cup of this final stock), stock and continue  to simmer. The reserved cup bring to a boil and thicken with a whitewash of cornstarch and water. Soup broth is even more luscious when it has a silky thickness. The chicken broth thickens quickly with the addition of the cornstarch and water then add this to the simmering soup. Check the taste for S& P balance..add some here if needed. I cook extra large egg noodles and add then to the soup as it is served. This soup is lovely with shreds of Parmesan.

Pesto Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup:

3 large chicken breast (about 2 lbs)

3 medium sweet onions diced

6 ribs of celery split and chopped

5 carrots split and sliced

2 large potatoes peeled and diced

2 1/2  quarts chicken stock (in a hurry I use store bought)

White wash

1 1/2 T corn starch

3T cool water (stir until smooth and no lumps)

Pistou (Pesto)

4-5 cloves garlic

2 t sea salt

1t black pepper

1 bunch fresh sweet basil

1/4 c olive oil

16 ounce cooked pasta of choice

( Classic egg noodle are shown above)