Grandma's Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (about 1.5 kg) or 1 kg chicken thighs on the bone
• 2.5 l cold water
• 2 onions, one halved and one diced
• 3 carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 2 bay leaves, a few peppercorns
• 150 g egg noodles
• Salt, fresh dill or parsley

Method

1. Put the chicken, water, halved onion, one carrot, one celery stalk, bay leaves and peppercorns in a large pot. Bring slowly to a simmer and skim off the foam.
2. Simmer gently, uncovered, for about 1 h 30 min. Do not let it boil hard or the broth turns cloudy.
3. Lift out the chicken and let it cool. Strain the broth and discard the vegetables.
4. Dice the remaining carrots and celery. Add them with the diced onion to the broth and cook 10 minutes.
5. Add the noodles and cook until tender. Meanwhile shred the chicken meat and return it to the pot.
6. Season with salt and finish with plenty of chopped dill.

If you plan to have leftovers, cook the noodles separately and add them to each bowl — they get soft sitting in the soup overnight.