Challah Knödel Chicken Noodle Soup

I’m late with posting the Chanukah recipe. However, by now, those who celebrate should have plenty of stale Challah bread leftover. The good news is, this Challah Knödel Chicken Noodle Soup is what you can do with it.  Plus the recipe title is such a catchy rhyme.

This Challah Knödel Chicken Noodle soup contains knödel, egg noodles and simple store-bought chicken stock further flavored with white wine. I use good organic ready made stock but kudos to you if you make your own. 

For a faster version of this dish, use storebought, thin egg noodles. Thin good old workhorse egg noodles will do the trick. However, because I wanted to make the presentation of this Challah Knödel Chicken Noodle Soup a bit special for Channukah, I got a bit fancy. Consequently, using a recipe for hand-rolled egg noodles,  I cut Star of David shapes out of the knödel dough using a cookie cutter. Using store-bought noodles is obviously a huge time saver. However, I always recommend adding the extra cute to a dish if you have time. Additionally, you can also skip the egg noodles altogether and just serve the soup with the knödel. 

Egg noodles stars aside, the real star of this Challah Knödel Chicken Noodle soup is the Challah knödel. The sweetness of the challah bread adds extra flavor to the bread dumplings or semmelknödel in German. Consequently, the soup itself is a simple yet flavorful chicken base with carrots and onions Feel free to add more vegetables to the stock. Throw in any leftover veggies or herbs you may have hanging out in your fridge. 

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Challah Knödel Chicken Noodle Soup

Keyword Chicken Soup

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 4

Author Lora Wiley-Lennartz

Ingredients

For the Challah Knoedel:

• 1/2 lb stale challah bread cut up into small pieces
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 small onion
• 1 egg
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4- 1/2 cup additional breadcrumbs

For the Soup:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion
• 2 carrots
• 3 +1/2 ounces egg noodles angel hair cut
• 3 cups chicken stock or broth
• 1/2 cup white wine
• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Make the challah knoedel:

1. Place the challah in a bowl.
2. Heat the milk in a small saucepan. Just before it comes to a boil, remove it from the heat and pour it over the challah pieces. Use a wooden spoon to push the challah around to make sure all of it has been soaked in the milk.
3. Scatter the lemon zest over the top.
4. Peel and chop the onion into small pieces.
5. In a separate skillet, heat the butter. Add the onions and sauté until the onion becomes transparent.
6. Remove from heat and add to the bowl. Mix the onions into the soaked challah.
7. Beat the eggs slightly in a separate dish. Add to the bowl and mix to evenly combine.
8. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
9. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Place a layer of paper towels next to the stove.
10. Use your hands to form balls out of the challah mixture and drop them into the boiling water.
    

11. If the knödel is too sticky or not holding together properly, add the additional breadcrumbs a tablespoon at a time until the mixture becomes easy to form into balls shapes.

12. When the knödel rises to the top of the pot, they are done.
13. Use a slotted spoon to remove them from the pot and transfer them to the paper towels to drain.

Make the soup:

1. Cook the noodles until they are al dente, drain and evenly divide them between 4 soup bowls.
2. Peel and dice the onion and carrots.
3. Heat the olive oil in a pot, Add the onions and sauté until they start to turn transparent. Mix in the carrots. Cook stirring occasionally until the carrots start to soften.
4. Add the chicken stock and the wine to the pot.
5. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
6. Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn the heat down low and simmer for 15 minutes.
7. Add the challah knödel to the pot and cook for about 5 minutes more.

8. Taste and if needed, season again with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

9. Ladle 4 Challah knödel into each bowl. Pour the soup evenly over the knödel and noodles between the 4 soup bowls and serve.

Like this Challah Knödel Chicken Noodle Soup? Try some of my other soup recipes: