Cilantro Lime Chicken Noodle Soup~Learning to Prepare Homemade Noodles

Preparing pasta at home? Preparing pasta at home, in a small kitchen with no counter space? Never say never! I am always up for a food challenge. Even if it’s just once, I must try. Most times I am pleasantly surprised with the results and happy for trying. Ok, so were talking small size pasta, like egg noodles,  gnocchi and orecchiette. Anything bigger than that and I would really need a pasta making machine. For today’s blog post I prepared egg noodles using a pasta flour made of semolina. The recipe below will yield a big batch of noodles. I used only half per soup recipe. The noodles are hearty, not mushy at all and think they would be delicious in a beef chili recipe with lot’s of cheese on top! Lol! Guess I am hungry. Time to head into the kitchen and get some of that kitchen therapy that always makes for a better day. 

 

Homemade Noodles

Ingredients
2 1/3 cups Pasta flour
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
2/3 cup warm water

Note~ This was enough pasta for 2 soup recipes

This really is a no fuss way to prepare homemade noodles without a pasta machine. But of course with a pasta machine you could get a thinner, softer noodle.

Cut the noodles as uniform as you can for even cooking time.

Toss in a little flour while they dry.

1. Sift flour into a large bowl. Make a well in center of flour and pour 2 eggs into well. add salt and oil. Mix ingredients with fork and gradually add in the warm water until dough forms. If too dry, add alittle more water. Knead until you have a soft dough. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.

2. Divide dough into four pieces and cover each piece with plastic so it does not dry out.Take 2 of the pasta dough balls, roll each piece to 1/8 inch thickness. Let rest for 5 minutes. Cut into noodles with sharp knife. Transfer to a lined baking sheet sprinkled with a little flour and let dry. Try to spread them out so they are not all clumped together or stacked on top of each other. Let dry for 1 hour. Drop into boiling soup and cook for 6 to 9 minutes. Do not overcook.

I was curious on how much the noodles weighed. The entire batch weighed 1 pound. I only used 1/2 pound in each soup recipe . 

Testing a few noodles…

Testing a few of the noodles with some chile de arbol oil and Asian chile garlic sauce.

 

Cilantro Lime Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breast, diced
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon Maggi sauce or soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
Olive oil
1/2 cup red onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 small red bell pepper, diced
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 serrano or jalapeño pepper, minced
1/3 cup cilantro, finely chopped, plus more for garmish
Juice of 1 large lime
7-8 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1/2 pound uncooked fresh noodles

Notes~ Once soup was cooked I stirred in 1 tablespoon chile de arbol oil. We like it spicy! You could also use the Asian style chile oil.

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine the chicken, paprika,cumin, Maggi sauce(or soy sauce), white pepper and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Stir well to combine and coat chicken evenly, set aside.

2. In a large pot, preheat 2 tablespoons of olive oil to medium/high heat for 5 minutes. Add the chicken and stir fry for 5 minutes until chicken is browned and caramelized in some spots.

3. Reduce heat to medium and add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, bell pepper and serrano. Cook for 3 minutes. Add the tomato and cilantro and cook for 5 more minutes. Season lightly with a little more Maggi sauce and pepper.

4. Add the 7-8 cups chicken broth, bay leaves and lime juice. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until carrots are fork tender.Taste for salt. While soup is simmering, gradually add the fresh noodles (1/2 pound) and cook for another 6 to 9  minutes or until noodles become tender.They will continue cooking for a little while longer. Remove from heat. Garnish with cilantro,  green onions, lime wedges and chile flakes. Yields 6 to 8 servings.

With the other portion of my noodles, I prepared the same soup, minus the chicken, carrots and celery.