Fall is here. Finally is time for chicken noodle soup, or any kind of soups. But this day was a chicken noodle soup kinda day. I had just got back from a visit to a cold and windy Denmark, and I needed some warm comfy soup.

My mom made this type of soup often in the winter months. Well, we didn't have noodles in the soup. We had the traditional Danish soup dumpling (melboller), boiled meatballs (kødboller), and supperis. But in a busy family it is so much easier to cook some noodles and be done with it.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

Soup:

5 organic chicken wings
1 whole organic chicken
½ celery root, + the green top, chopped in large chunks
3 carrots, sliced in large chunks
2 leeks, sliced in 3 big chunks
1 onion, quartered skin on
1 teaspoon tomato paste
3 liter (12 cups) water

Filling:

2 cups shredded chicken meat (from wings and chicken)
½ celery root, finely diced
2 carrots, sliced
1 leek, white part, thinly sliced
2 cups egg noodles, cooked according to package
chili pepper, diced - optional

Directions:

Heat oil in a large heavy pot. Cook the chicken wings till they have a deep brown color all over. Be careful not to overcrowd the pot, this will make the wing boil instead of browning. Transfer wings to a plate.

Add onion, carrots, celery and leek to pot. Cook, turning occasionally, until browned. Add tomato paste, cook while stirring until the tomato paste is heated through, 1-2 minutes. Add about a cup (2 dl) of the water to deglaze the pot, so you get all the brown bits dispersed. Add wings, chicken and the celery greens and the rest of the water. You want to cover all the chicken with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let the soup simmer for 1½–2 hours until the chicken is falling off the bones. Skim the soup occasionally, to get a clear soup. Remove chicken and vegetables, and strain soup into a clean large heavy pot.

(Now you have a great homemade chicken stock. If you want a more concentrated stock, reduce the stock to about a third. The stock can be frozen for later use.)

Remove the meat from the bones, save the meat, and discard the bones.

Add carrots, leek and celery to the strained soup, and let it simmer until tender, about 2-5 minutes. Add the meat and let it heat through.

Serve the soup in heated bowls with some cooked egg noodles. I always cook the noodles separate, so they don't get to mushy if you want to save the leftovers.

Enjoy!