Soba Noodle Soup

It is fall and therefore tis' the season for soup! On Saturday night I made my first soup, Butternut Squash, (blog post to come) which was delicious and has inspired me to explore more soup recipes...my fiance also recently referred to himself as a "soup guy" which has influenced my recent menus as well! This week I found a recipe on marthastewart.com for Soba Noodle soup and tweaked it a little bit adding one of our favorite vegetables, Christophene or Chayote Squash and some protein. It turned out to be a delicious and light soup perfect for a rainy day, which we have had way too many of recently! It has also made for great work lunches!

adapted from MarthaStewart.com

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil

12 ounces of shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon ginger, minced

28 ounces low-sodium chicken broth 

1/2 package soba noodles (also referred to as Japanese buckwheat noodles)

1 bunch spinach

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 tablespoon soy sauce

4 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts seperated

2 chayote squash, sliced thinly

1 chicken breast, cut into small approximately 1/2 inch pieces

3 cups water

Salt

                             

Method:

Step one: In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat.

Step two: Add mushroom, scallion whites, garlic, ginger, chayote squash and salt. Cook stirring occasionally for approximately 6-8 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Simultaneously, in small frying pan heat 1 tablespoon over medium heat, add chicken pieces and cook until cooked through.

Step three: Add chicken broth and water and bring to a boil.

Step four: Reduce to simmer, add chicken pieces and soba noodles to pot and cook for 5 minutes.

Step five:  Add spinach and cook until tender, approximately 1 minute.

Step six: Add lime juice, soy sauce and scallion greens, simmer for three minutes. Serve!