Vegan "Chicken" Noodle Soup with Homemade Noodles & Soy Protein

 Today is a day when the fridge is empty, it's time to go shopping and Hubbs and I are hungry, so I decided to make dinner with what I had on hand.  Homemade noodles are always a fun thing to make - something my Mom used to make all the time when I was a kid.  But of course she would make egg noodles and put them in "real" chicken noodle soup.  No worries, this is equally as good.  I have made this soup with homemade seitan before and also just the noodles and broth.  Those ways have been equally good, but with a hungry hubby constantly mentioning how hungry he is, I decided making homemade seitan was out of the question for today.  So a simple, hearty soup to make when you're hungry but don't have a lot of time or ingredients!

Vegan "Chicken" Noodle Soup with Homemade Noodles:

Seriously delicious.  Ultimate comfort food!



Serves: 4-6

1/2 cup onions, diced

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

8 cups vegan chicken stock, made with un-chicken boullion

1 cup soy curls

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Pasta:

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour (plus an additional 1/4 cup for kneading)

2 tablespoons minced parsley, optional



1.  Prepare the pasta: in a large bowl add the water, sea salt and olive oil.  Mix together till combined.  Add the flour and optional parsley.  Mix together with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together.

2.  Sprinkle a clean cutting board with additional unbleached flour and roll the dough around in the flour to coat.  Press the dough into a disc and roll out to desired thickness with a rolling pin. 

3.  To make rustic pasta (the kind my mom would always make), slice the pasta into strips with a paring knife. 

4.  Sprinkle a baking pan with additional unbleached flour, carefully pick up the pasta and place on top of the flour.  Cover the pasta with a clean, dry towel and set aside until needed.

5.  Now prepare the soup part of the recipe: in a large pot, add the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Once the oil is hot, add the chopped onions and cook for about 3-5 minutes, or until translucent.  Try not to let the onions color.

6.  Add the garlic and allow to cook for 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant.  Add the "chicken" stock made with filtered water and unchicken boullion.  Bring the ingredients to a boil.

7.  Once the liquid boils, reduce heat slightly and add the soy curls and black pepper.  Cook till the soy curls are just about cooked.

8.  Add the pasta: place once piece of pasta into the simmering water at a time to reduce the likelihood of the pasta completely sticking together. 

9.  Stir periodically until the noodles and soy curls are completely cooked through.  The pasta will rise to the top once it has cooked.

10.  Try to allow it to cool slightly before eating.

Enjoy!

Koko