RECIPE: Soul-soothing chicken soup in 20 minutes

In the twilight of the year, that semi-quiet time between family festivities and New Year’s Eve, I want warm, cozy comfort in the form of chicken noodle soup. Sometimes I have the energy to make a soup from scratch — homemade stock and all — but, most of the time, such efforts fall by the wayside. That’s when I turn to this semi-homemade version, one that takes only a little bit more time and effort than opening up a can and tastes far more like, well, chicken.

For the broth, I start with 2 quarts of low-sodium boxed chicken broth, which I use to gently poach a couple of small chicken breasts. A relatively slow cooking time ensures the chicken won’t turn dry and stringy. You can make this method work with a single larger breast, but you’ll want to cut the poultry in half through its equator to form thinner cutlets, which will cook in less time.

I like to cook the noodles separately from the broth; this prevents the broth from becoming cloudy with starch and the noodles from overcooking. I prefer small pasta, like orzo, that will snuggle up on a spoon with ease. For the vegetables, I stick with simple, quick-cooking frozen peas and carrots; these really only need a minute in boiling broth to cook through. A squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of olive oil brings this quick meal together.