This vermicelli soup recipe is close to Jacques Pepin’s heart. Prepare to get warm and cozy with this nourishing recipe inspired by Jacques’ own mother – a perfect dish for the cold winter months ahead.
If you don’t have any vermicelli on hand, try substituting the noodles with rice or even instant mashed potatoes. Would you add anything to this soup?
What you’ll need:
Vermicelli noodles, chicken boullion, salt, pepper, scallions or leek, chives, Swiss or gruyere cheese,
Jacques Pépin Cooking At Home: Vermicelli Soup
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Jacques Pépin Cooking At Home features short recipe videos that transform readily-available ingredients into exciting new dishes, perfect for newly-anointed home cooks and seasoned chefs alike. Presented by the Jacques Pépin Foundation, an organization dedicated to enriching lives and strengthening communities through the power of culinary education. https://jp.foundation/
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– Hi, I’m Jacques Pepin and I’m “Cooking at Home”. You know, soup for me is often dinner, but one of the most visceral soups, I mean, you know, that I always have it in my mind, in my heart, is the soup my mother used to do called Soup Vermicelles. What we call vermicelles in France is those tiny egg noodle,
Sometimes they come in a bottle, to vermicelli, in Italian. And always we stuck to this. A couple of leeks, scallions, that was it. Claudine, my daughter, is hooked on that and as well is my granddaughter. (chuckles) So, I have often my own stock like I have here, but this is very… (sips)
Very, very weak. There is no salt in it. So, often to strengthen it, I put a little bit of that base, that chicken base here. And this one is an organic one, so it’s good to have, or regular… I can buy chicken stock also. That you can buy, one or the other.
Oh well, then I’ll put a bit of salt in there because as I said, this one has little seasoning. I have about six cups of stock here. I usually put… I went through my refrigerator here and I see those old scallion. You know, cut the end of it, trim them.
I always have scallion in my refrigerator, or leek. Okay, here. Okay, and I have a few chives there because I have them in my garden now. And I like chives. So I’m gonna put some paper in there. I’m gonna chop this to put it in there. Sometime, you know, instead of the vermicelli here, the pasta, I put instead, mashed potato. Very good, very fast. Or very often, also kind of leftover rice. Often we have rice, or sometime I go to the Chinese restaurant and they have rice and I take what’s left. And that’s it.
This, I let it boil a couple of minutes. I put my vermicelli inside as well. And here, I have about a cup of it. Should have about two ounces. You could do it thicker or not as thick or whatever. Let it bring back to a boil
And, well, boil like four or five minutes at the most, and it’s ready. This, I’ll put that in there in a little while. Okay. The chive. So, sometime for lunch when I don’t know what to do for lunch, I have that and my wife is happy with that. I already like to put a little bit of cheese in it. And for me, my favorite one is Swiss cheese. That, and this is,
You know, Jarlsberg or Emmentaler or, you know, Gruyère or any of this. It’s fine. So, this is it. Wait another three, four minutes and we can serve it with the cheese. That’s it. The soup is cooked, and a little bit of Gruyère in the bottom or no cheese at all.
Okay, here it is. We have food for two or three here. So that sets here with the Gruyère at the end, you know, and we’ll taste it. Mm, just like my mother used to be. (chuckles) Thank you and happy cooking.
34 Comments
Yup. Home cooking it is.
1. after you turn off the fire, you can break an egg into the pot, and quickly stir it with a fork until long threads of egg are lightly cooked by the hot soup – this enriches the soup, both in taste and in "substance".
2. You could add quarter-teaspoon of turmeric into the stock, and that would both add a wonderful "background" flavor, but also paint the soup yellow-orange, and make it more beautiful (less pale). It's very delicate – try it!
3. Leftover chicken thigh or leg coarsely diced into the soup will also enrich it and make it "meaty" and filling.
These 3 additions won't add much time or complexity to the preparation – but will greatly leverage this great soup
Hands down, the best rice bang for you buck is Chipotles double side of rice for under 3 bucks. Fills a whole burrito bowl. Always a go to when I need good lightly seasoned rice real quick.
Perfect for a cozy winter lunch. 🙂
Getting cold there….. keep warm, Chef!
Thank you Jacques and thank you KQED. I discovered this legend recently, and he has gotten me into cooking. I've been cooking for my family now, and I appreciate what he's done. We must appreciate Jacques while he is still around.
jacques in age almost 90s
still healthy and strong and still put a show , what a man
I love the fact that his home stove isn't a fancy Viking or Wolf.. but just a simple gas double burner…. gets the job done.. no need for Rachel Ray's $10,000 set or Frontier Lady's $20,000 kitchen.
Ewww, he sips off the spoon and then dips it into the bullion base. THIS IS CONTAMINATION IF I EVER SAW IT, and this man worked in the food industry. I wouldn't eat anything he cooked for me.
I wish someone would tell the woman at
Cook's Country/America's Test Kitchen to STOP USING CHEF PEPIN'S
signature sign off phrase….
HAPPY COOKING !!
imo she is STEALING from Jacques Pepin.
Julia Collin Davison is a CRIMINAL!!!!!
why are you torturing this old man?
Jacques is without question my most favorite chef. Such a warm and humble person who can make gourmet meals from kitchen scraps, and teach you something along the way. What a gem of a person.
I want to meet two TV chefs, the first is Graham Kerr, the second, Jacques Pepin.
Just made it.
How in the world did I not know how to make this? Simple, the definition of elegant. No wonder you family loves it.
If you read this, chef, I have to say thank you. Thank you for sharing this.
GOAT!
Thank you for sharing I will make this soup for sure
To add to the vermicelli soup, you just add moth balls in your soup to keep the moths away😁😁😁!
French Pho
Superb
Heartwarming!
Mmmmmmmm yesssss 😊❤
I will absolutely make this. Reminds me of the old Mrs. Grass's soup with the golden nugget of oily chicken stock in it (now minus the egg, so i don't buy it anymore). This is definitely excellent soup. I can tell. This man is a treasure of knowledge.
you are one of the world's great chefs & teachers — Happy Holidays Chef Pepin
Yay ! Thank you ! bisous
Soupe au vermicelle is to old french people what chicken soup is to americans. A comfort food that reminds you of childhood.
Thank YOU Chef! ❤
Can I be a grand kid for a weekend? Promise I will pay attention and teach my kids. 😍
For gods sake Jaques you know its hot but you never blow on it XD
Give it a puff before you stuff, m'kay?
I've never watched one of these without doing two things:
Smiling
Saving the recipe
Don't you just love Jacques' precise recipes. While cutting up some chives because he has them in his garden "& I'll put these in there in a little while." You gotta love it.
Always thank you.
Simple but look delicious 😋…..break one egg into the soup more tasty mr.
3:48 . Hot , very hot . . . . 😁
I sometimes lose confidence but Jacques can remind me when he does dishes similar to what i would make, That i should be happy for all that i have to offer
Only a Master can make something so simple and taste so great!
I loved the look on his face after he tasted it and said just like my Mother used to make .