My staple chicken soup recipe. I mix this up depending on what is in the fridge however I basically alternate with Green Chicken Goodness, Creamy Chicken & Corn (see notes at bottom of recipe) and Parsnip + Chicken Soup.

From the pantry…

800 grams of organic chicken cutlets or marylands or drumsticks (bone in and skin on) * see kitchen notes

a few tablespoons of ghee or coconut oil

1 brown onion – diced

a few stalks of celery – finely sliced

2 carrots medium size – chopped into chunks

1 medium sweet potato – chopped into chunks

Chicken bone broth – 1.5L (or whatever you have on hand…the more the better, however if you are cooking with bone in chicken then this is not essential – simply use filtered water)

1-2 zucchinis – grated

half a bunch of cavolo nero (black kale) very finely sliced

handful of fresh parsley

organic rice noodles 

sea or rock salt and pepper to taste

optional – freshly grated ginger & a clove of crushed garlic

 

Getting it together…

Begin by warming some ghee or coconut oil in a pan over a medium heat.

Add the chicken skin side down to give some colour for a few minutes. If you are using chicken thighs (without skin and bone) then you will need to slice the meat and be careful to only colour the meat gently for a few minutes. I often skip this step if using chicken thighs. 

Once you have given the skin some colour, remove the chicken with tongs and set aside for a moment.

Add a little more ghee or coconut oil if needed and then sauté onion and celery for 5 minutes over low – medium heat until translucent. If adding a little grated ginger and or crushed garlic, now is the time. (I don’t usually use garlic as I already use garlic powder in my chicken broth)

Next add in carrots, sweet potato, chicken broth or filtered water and add the chicken back in.

Place on lid, leaving a little ‘ajar’ and simmer over a low – medium heat for at least 2 hours. If you are using chicken thighs (without bone in) then cooking time will be significantly less – more like 40 minutes.

[preparation while soup is cooking]

Grate zucchini + finely slice kale + parsley and set aside ready to add to soup, about 20 minutes before cooking ends.

Also prepare rice noodles – by placing in boiling water to soften for 10 minutes then drain and rinse before tipping into soup about 10 minutes before cooking ends.

[to finish] 

20 minutes before cooking ends, add in greens

10 minutes before cooking ends, add in soaked rice noodles

Take soup off heat and remove any bones or skin before serving. 

Enjoy along side some toasted sourdough

[kitchen notes] 

* You can also simply use organic chicken thighs for this if you are wanting it to cook quickly, in which case make sure you have at least 1.5L of homemade chicken stock to really add nutrients and flavour.

CREAMY CHICKEN & CORN

Another favourite is to add corn cobs and kernels for a really creamy (dairy free) soup. Follow the recipe for Green Chicken Goodness, simply leaving out the sweet potato, zucchini and kale and instead add 2 cobs of corn – cut the corn kernels off the cob plus add the 2 cobs (cut these in half). The cobs add a creamy deliciousness to the soup. Simply discard the cobs when serving or let them cool (as they will be very hot inside) and the kids can enjoy any left over bits.

 

I’d love to know if you give it a try.

Enjoy,  Natalie x