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Jenny Behm-Lazzarini

Chicken Noodle Soup
S26E10 American · 2021
Red Fin Crudo + Kitchen in Providence, RI is now closed (2026)
● @jenniferbehmlazzarini

Jenny Behm-Lazzarini won MasterChef Season 2 in 2011, then went home to Mississippi and ran Red Fin Crudo in Providence for the next thirteen years. (Red Fin closed in 2024; she is currently between restaurants and doing private chef work, which is the polite shorthand for "between restaurants.")

She beat Bobby with chicken noodle soup. Which, as a dish to choose against a man who has spent thirty years on television, is a flex. Chicken noodle soup is the dish you cannot make better by being a famous chef. The dish either has the stock or it doesn't. The noodles either have bite or they don't. The chicken either tastes like chicken or it tastes like the freezer it came out of.

Hers had all three. Bobby's, per the room, had perhaps one of the three.

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Chicken Noodle Soup

20 min Prep
45 min Cook
4 Serves
Ingredients
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, small diced
  • 2 large carrots, cut into thin half-moons
  • 2 celery stalks, thin sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 8 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
  • 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 6 oz egg noodles, uncooked
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Instructions
  1. Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat until shimmering, about 2 minutes. Add diced onion, carrots, and celery; sauté for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften and onion becomes translucent.
  2. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Pour in 8 cups of chicken stock, scraping the bottom of the pot to deglaze any browned bits. Bring to a boil over high heat, about 3-4 minutes.
  3. Season chicken pieces with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Once stock reaches a rolling boil, add chicken pieces and bay leaf. Return to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 12 minutes until chicken is cooked through (internal temperature 165°F).
  4. Add egg noodles and fresh thyme leaves directly to the simmering broth. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until noodles are al dente and tender but still hold their shape.
  5. Remove pot from heat and discard bay leaf. Stir in fresh lemon juice and taste for seasoning, adjusting salt and pepper as needed. Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Serve immediately while steaming hot.
Inspired by Jenny Behm-Lazzarini’s winning chicken noodle soup. This is a plausible recreation, not the chef’s original recipe.
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