Velouté of Chicken with Egg Noodles

Headnote

This soup is built on restraint: a light chicken velouté enriched with milk and cream, then finished with tender egg noodles and properly seasoned chicken breast. Its character should be silky rather than heavy, with a clean poultry flavor and a gentle pepper finish. The result is a composed, elegant soup that remains comforting without losing precision.

Recipe essentials

Dish category: Soup
Cuisine or origin: Classic European-inspired
Course type: First course or light main
Yield: 1 serving
Serving size: 260 g
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Moderate

Equipment

Small saucepan
Medium saucepan
Fine whisk
Cutting board
Chef’s knife
Ladle
Kitchen scale

Ingredients

Chicken breast, trimmed: 70 g
Egg noodles: 35 g
Chicken broth: 110 g
Milk: 45 g
Cream: 20 g
Butter: 10 g
Wheat flour: 6 g
Salt: 2 g
Black pepper, finely ground: 1 g

Method

1. Cut the chicken breast into neat 10 g pieces. Season with 1 g of the salt and 0.5 g of the black pepper.

2. Bring the chicken broth to a gentle simmer in a medium saucepan. Add the chicken and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, just until the flesh turns opaque and remains tender. Remove the chicken with a ladle and reserve.

3. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the wheat flour and whisk continuously for 1 minute until the mixture is smooth, pale, and faintly nutty.

4. Gradually whisk in the milk, then the cream, followed by the hot broth from the saucepan. Return the mixture to a gentle simmer and cook for 4 minutes, whisking often, until lightly thickened and fully smooth.

5. Add the egg noodles and simmer for 6 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are supple and the soup coats the back of a spoon in a thin, elegant layer.

6. Return the chicken to the soup and warm for 1 minute. Season with the remaining salt and black pepper. The finished soup should be creamy, fluid, and clean in flavor, with the noodles tender and the chicken just cooked through.

Plating and serving

Ladle the soup into a warmed bowl, ensuring an even distribution of noodles and chicken. Serve immediately with a smooth surface and a restrained, velvety finish.

Professional notes

Keep the broth at a bare simmer; boiling will toughen the chicken and cloud the soup. The roux must remain pale, or the flavor will become heavy. The final texture should be light enough to eat with a spoon, not dense like a sauce.