How Jamie Oliver Turns Classic Chicken Noodle Soup Into A Gourmet Comfort Food

While homemade chicken noodle soup is undoubtedly as timeless as it is cozy, sometimes even the most tried-and-true dishes need a refresh. Enter: Chef, cookbook author, and TV host Jamie Oliver's rendition, which gives classic chicken noodle soup a serious gourmet upgrade. In his recipe, Oliver adds elevated ingredients like leeks, saffron, dry sherry, and sweet ginger vinegar to a soup which traditionally contains a quite simple, yet effective, ingredient roster of broth, chicken, veggies, and pasta.

The resulting flavor is at once as nostalgic as it is complex, taking the soup out of the box — or out of even the best store-bought cans, if you will. While some home cooks and chefs will tell you not to mess with a dish as classic as chicken noodle soup, Oliver's recipe is a successful reimagining, largely due to his prerequisite respect for the traditional soup's base. He still incorporates the ingredients essential to a good comforting bowl, including scratch-made chicken stock, veggies, as well as fragrant ingredients like parsley, garlic, and bay leaves. With the foundational base done right, the addition of dry sherry adds a subtle nutty complexity. Fresh ginger and ginger vinegar add a spicy bite and a touch of acidity. Saffron and leeks stir the pot with depth and aromatics — all of which represent much welcome twists to the classic dish.

As Oliver displays in his recipe, it's quite easy to elevate chicken noodle soup — as long as you honor the basic formula of a mirepoix veggie sauté, including onions, celery, and carrots. From there, you can swap or add in other veggies. For instance, sub out the onions in the recipe for shallots, replace regular garlic with wild garlic from the garden, or chop up a bulb of fennel in place of the celery. While seemingly small, these ingredient upgrades can really make a big difference in such a straightforward soup.

Besides the veggies, you can also make fun adjustments to chicken noodle soup by employing unique spices. Oliver uses saffron, which gives the soup a sweet, earthy taste and elegance. But if you don't have saffron on hand — or if it doesn't fit your budget in this economy — don't sweat it (let your veggies do that). You can try out other spices like sweet paprika, thyme, turmeric, or a blend of all three. Add chili oil as an optional garnish to give the soup a spicy kick. And, of course, when upgrading the classic soup, don't overlook the multitude of pasta types available. A sophisticated pasta shape like casarecce or cascatelli can really transform the childhood favorite into a soup fit for serving at a tasteful dinner party. It's likely you'll see that a blend of nostalgia and modern touches can really work wonders in the dish.