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tagliolini noodles in chicken broth

TAGLIOLINI IN BRODO, that is ITALIAN NOODLE SOUP. This is comfort food for those brutal winter days when you need to re-warm your soul.

To be honest, I love it so much that I can eat it throughout the year except the middle of the summer.

When I make  fresh pasta , I always have enough  left over dough for  some noodles. I generally make tagliolini, i.e.  very narrow fettuccine. When they are dry but still flexible, I  twirl the noodles into nice little nests (see picture in this post) and freeze them. After a while I have enough noodles for a meal.

I also often make a pot of chicken stock for which I use organic chicken wings. The resulting broth is light, so it is not necessary to remove  foam, fat or strain it. The secret of this dish is in the fresh ingredients. Poor quality stock or pasta will ruin it.

Recipe

• 1/2 kg (1 pound) organic chicken wings
• 3 lt (3 quarts) cold water
• 1 medium tomato
• 1 medium whole onion, peeled
• 1 medium carrot, scrubbed
• 1 celery stalk, leaves removed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 60 gr (2 ounces) fresh tagliolini per person

Combine all ingredients in a stockpot and cover. Adding salt to the cold water prevents the formation of foam. Simmer gently for about one hour or until the chicken is cooked and the meat falls off the bones. Pour stock through a metal sieve to remove the chicken and vegetables.

Transfer the stock – about 1 cup per person – to a smaller pan and bring it to a high boil. Add noodles and cook briefly, no more than one min. if the noodles are fresh or two min. if frozen. The very thin noodles overcook quickly as they continue cooking in the hot stock.

Ladle broth and noodles into bowls and serve piping hot with grated Parmesan if desired.

Please do not cut the tagliolini with a knife. Eat with spoon and fork. The noodles should be rolled like spaghetti as shown in the picture above.