Home > Recipes > Chicken soup recipes > Turmeric chicken noodle soup with chard

Turmeric chicken noodle soup with chard

By: Katy McClelland

Published: 18 Oct 21
Updated: 25 Mar 24

Combine poached chicken with plenty of garlic, dark leafy greens like chard or spinach, and healthful turmeric and you get the ultimate soothing chicken noodle soup.

For more comfort in a bowl, take a look through our chicken soup recipes collection.

Easy
October 2021

Test kitchen approved

Serves 6-8
Hands-on time 30 min

Combine poached chicken with plenty of garlic, dark leafy greens like chard or spinach, and healthful turmeric and you get the ultimate soothing chicken noodle soup.

For more comfort in a bowl, take a look through our chicken soup recipes collection.

Dairy-free recipes

Save recipe

Save

Save recipe Print

Rate

Ingredients

1 small free-range organic chicken (about 1.5kg)
3 garlic bulbs (ideally organic), cloves separated but unpeeled
3 large celery sticks, chopped
3 large carrots, chopped
4 large turmeric roots, peeled and quartered (or 1 tsp ground turmeric and a pinch of saffron)
5 thyme sprigs
1-2 bay leaves
10 parsley stalks (keep the leaves to use elsewhere)
20 black peppercorns
320g vermicelli noodles (or broken spaghetti)
400g swiss chard or large leaf spinach, chopped

Cook Mode Sticky screen? No thanks! Tap to prevent your screen from going off while cooking.

Method

To prep the chicken, press down firmly on the backbone (as if spatchcocking) to break. Cut along one side of the backbone (kitchen scissors are good), then open out into one flat piece. Cut the legs into separate joints, cut off the wings and leave the breasts in one piece.
Put the chicken pieces in a large pot with the garlic, celery, carrot, turmeric, thyme, bay, parsley stalks and peppercorns and cover with cold water. Bring to a very gentle simmer – don’t let it boil. This keeps the broth clear and poaches the chicken without it breaking apart. Simmer very gently for 3 hours, regularly skimming off any foam. Top up with a little more water to keep the chicken and vegetables fully submerged, if you need to.
Transfer the chicken to a plate. Strain the liquid into another large pan and discard all the solids except the garlic.

Once cool enough to handle, strip the cooked chicken meat off the bones and set aside. Slice or shred larger pieces. Cook the noodles in another pan according to the instructions on the pack, drain and set aside.
Add the chicken and noodles to the pan of broth to heat through along with the chard/spinach (add in batches as it wilts). Season to taste. Either squeeze the garlic cloves from their skins and mix into the soup to serve, or leave in whole.