tom norrington-davies' chicken noodle soup with mint and lemon

Home Alone as Ana and Milo are living it up dans the Isle of Wight, and with an impending cold looming in the tickle in the back of my throat, is there any better way to spend a chilly evening than making chicken noodle soup?

I think this must the third version of this classic and I can't really separate the three as all have their merits. I revisited Tom Norrington-Davies' version tonight primarily as it's souper quick (snigger), but also because I quite fancied the fresh, zingy notes from the lemon and the chilli hit. I didn't have any mint (again), and I had to make up my own base using Oyster Sauce and Fish Sauce as apparently we don't have any Soy Sauce, but it was still quite fragrant and delicate. Of course if I really wanted to battle my man flu I should've whacked a massive spoonful of ginger in, but I forgot.

For the record, our other standby Chicken Soup recipes are the equally new Spiced Chicken and Lentil Soup, and a Jill Dupleix version I used to cook loads in Putney.  It involves boiling up a chicken carcass with star anise and various bits of veg, so I've not really done it for a couple of years but seeing how I've got three or four carcasses in the freezer, maybe it's due a return?

Also, being on my own means there's ample time for backdating of the blog, there's a couple I've caught up with here, and expect us to be sort-of-fully up to date by Friday, when I'll go out and immediately be a day out.

• Rick Stein's Shepherd's pie, as cooked in India
• Bill Granger's Dhal with Tamarind and Lime

More to come...

sources
chicken noodle soup with mint and lemon - Tom Norrington-Davies, Delicious circa 2006 maybe, now The Owl Book