Vegan "Chicken" Noodle Soup
We are in the throes of that time of year: When it's cold outside, dark, and everyone seems to be sick with something. I recently was fighting a sore throat and had a hankering for my mom's chicken soup (but, with no animal bodies in it.) So I found a bunch of recipes and combined a few that seemed to really hit the sweet spot. Also, Anne has had COVID for over a week and this is the only thing she will eat.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 teaspoon onion powder or 1 small onion chopped
- 3-4 carrots, peeled and chopped (totaling about one cup)
- 3-4 celery stalks, trimmed and chopped (totaling about one cup)
- 8 cups of vegan broth (Gardein has a new broth that is great; but any will do, even veggie stock if that is all you have)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 package of extra firm tofu, pressed and chopped into 1/4 inch cubes
- Noodle of choice (I use gluten free rotini for a fun shape.)
- salt and pepper to taste
In a large saucepan, sauté the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the garlic and onion or onion powder and cook 3-4 minutes or until fragrant.
Add the carrots and celery and cook for another 5 minutes or so, allowing them to soften.
Add the broth, thyme, basil, bay leaves, and parsley and stir well.
Bring the soup to a low simmer, and cook for about 20 minutes.
While the soup is simmering, bring water to boil in a separate pot to prepare your noodles according to the package directions. If anything, undercooking your noodles by a minute or so is not bad as it will help them keep their shape when added to the soup at the very end.
Add the cubed tofu and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
To serve, add noodles to a large soup bowl, and ladle soup all around. Store the noodles and the soup separate--**this is especially important for gluten free noodles as they will otherwise expand and absorb all of your broth = mush.