Growing Chefs! Ontario Chicken Noodle Poulet au Pot

Chicken Noodle Poulet au Pot

This traditional French Sunday supper dish is enhanced with fun pasta noodles. A very good one pot classic to warm the soul on winter days!
Difficulty
Intermediate
Yield
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
1 whole chicken1 large onion, diced1 head garlic, left unpeeled and halved horizontally1 bay leaf1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely grated A sprig of fresh thyme (or substitute 1 teaspoon dried thyme)1 tablespoon fennel seeds1/2 teaspoon pepper3 tablespoons parsley, chopped1 leek (white and pale green parts only), halved and thinly sliced6 small carrots (about 1 pound), peeled and diced3 small turnips (about 1/2 pound), peeled and diced3 stalks celery, sliced1 1/2 cups small pasta noodles (such as ditalini or orzo) Salt to taste
Equipment
Large potCutting boardChef’s knifePeelerRaspMeasuring cupsMeasuring spoonsBowls various sizes for ingredientsLadleTongsDish towelTasting spoons

Get Organized!

Gather your mise en place; get together all of the equipment needed for the recipe and gather all of the ingredients.

Get Prepped!

Clean the leeks: Split them lengthwise and thoroughly wash under cold water. Slice in thin half rounds.

Chicken pot leeks

Peel the carrots. Cut them into finger sized pieces, and dice them into pieces about 1 cm.

Chicken pot carrot

Peel the turnip. Cut them into finger sized pieces, and dice them into pieces about 1 cm.

Chicken pot turnip

Cut the tip and root off of the celery. Slice it into thin pieces.

Chicken pot celery

Remove parsley leaves from the stem, and chop them.

Chicken pot parsley

Cut onion in half from root to tip. Cut off the tip, and remove the papery skin. Dice each half of the onion by making incisions about 1 cm apart lengthwise, that go almost to the root but keep the root intact. Turn the onion and cut crosswise to complete a 1 cm dice.

Chicken pot onion

Cut the whole garlic head in half horizontally.

Chicken pot garlic

Peel and grate the ginger finely with a rasp.

Chicken pot ginger

Get Cooking!

Put the whole chicken in a large pot with the onion, garlic, ginger, thyme, fennel seeds, and bay leaf. Pour in 12 cups (3 litres) of cold water. Season with salt. Bring the water to a boil, and then reduce the heat and gently simmer the chicken, covered, about 20 minutes. Skim off any scum that rises to the surface with a ladle and dispose of it.

Chicken pot cooking 1

Add the leeks, carrots, celery, turnips and parsley to the chicken and continue to simmer, partially covered, until tender and the juices of the chicken run clear when a thigh is pierced with a skewer, about 25 minutes more.

Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let rest, about 10 minutes. At this point, you can also remove the head of garlic. While you are waiting for the chicken to cool, add the pasta noodles and cook in the soup until tender.

Chciken pot chicken out

Shred the chicken into small bite sized pieces with your hands. Add chicken back into soup and mix. 

Chicken pot shred

Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve soup.

Poulet au pot