Chicken Zoodle (Baby Marrow / Courgette Noodles) Soup Version 2

Last night in the midst of preparing for the auspicious hindu celebration of Diwali which occurs on Sunday - a making of sweet treats or sweetmeats, heavy sugar and carbohydrate laden delicasies and desserts, I started developing a strep throat and to take the edge off any temptation to indulge in sugar, I made a pot of Chicken Zoodle Soup, as a cure for feeling ill.  I decided to do it a bit differently this time round, with a base of tablespoon of olive oil and braising the onion and veggies for a more "wholesome" tasting soup.  The proof is in the pudding lol, had some for breakfast this morning and it definitely tasted better than the first recipe!   The pictures below will illustrate step by step how I went about doing it. 

I  used half quantities and used chicken thighs instead of half a whole chicken, which will work just as well. I  used a combination of my oven and the stove top and didn't use the heavy cast iron pot this time around, just regular Aloe cookware.

This recipe makes 4 servings which freeze well.  I have frozen into serving sizes in the past, and remove from freezer in the morning and leave out to defrost in time to reheat for my next meal.

Ingredients

4 chicken thighs skin on
1-2 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 large white onion, diced or thinly sliced
2  cloves of garlic
salt black pepper to taste
5 cups boiling water
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp thyme
zoodles from 6-8 small courgettes
optional:  Green chilli, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds

Here's How

• Arrange the chicken thighs in an oven tray.

• Dust with salt and pepper. Roast the chicken in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes at 180.

• Next, add the boiling water to the oven pan still keeping it in the oven, bring it to a boil over medium-high heat and boil for 5 minutes
• Heat the olive oil in a pot on the stove, once hot, add cumin seeds, onion and green chilli and braise until onion is translucent
• Then add bay leaf, carrot and celery  and braise for a further 10 minutes
  

  

  
  
• Now, add to the pot, the liquid only from the oven tray, remove all the chicken and keeping aside.
  

  
•  Remove  and shred all the chicken meat and keep aside, add the bones back into the vegetable broth on the stove
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• Simmer for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, shred the chicken and throw away any bones.
• At this stage, prepare your zoodles.

 

• Once the broth has completed simmering, carefully remove the bones that remain in it with a slotted spoon.
• Then, reintroduce the chicken and add the zoodles.
• Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Serve piping hot and garnish with fresh coriander or fresh flat leave parsley.
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