You know you’ve got battles ahead of you when Covid starts kicking in mid-September and gets progressively worse in October. Staying on top of your game is important. Eating healthy and getting plenty of immune boosting foods in ya belly gives you the best chance of avoiding the dreaded VID. Nobody wants to invite the “vid” in.
This soup is one of my favorite chicken soups. It’s comforting and satisfying when you’re in the mood for something comforting and satisfying. This particular recipe makes for the best meal when you’re feeling under the weather or need a bowl of warm comfort food. It’s loaded with good ingredients to not only combat cold symptoms, but provide sustenance on colder days.
Makes 6-7 portions
INGREDIENTS
- 2 T extra virgin olive oil
- 2 T salted butter
- 1 large onion, diced (approximately 2 cups)
- 1 organic leek, finely chopped (approximately 1 cup)
- 6-7 cloves fresh garlic cloves, minced (approximately 5 tablespoons)
- 1 T fresh turmeric, grated (or two teaspoons dry)
- 1 T fresh ginger, grated
- 2 organic carrots, diced (approximately 2 cups)
- 5 stalks organic celery, diced (approximately 2 cups)
- 64 oz organic chicken broth (homemade or organic store-bought)
- 3-4 organic chicken breasts, boneless & skinless
- 3 T fresh lemon juice
- 1 T lemon zest
- 1 T fresh thyme, finely chopped (or one tablespoon dry)
- 1 1/2 C pearl couscous, uncooked
- 1/4 C fresh organic Italian parsley, chopped
- 1/4 C fresh organic dill, rough chopped (optional)
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
- chili flakes (optional)
In a medium-large stock pot on medium heat, add olive oil and butter. Once warmed and butter melted, add onion and leek, sauté 3 minutes. Add carrots and celery and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Add 1/3 cup of broth and cook for 5-6 minutes, until ingredients have softened. Stir in garlic, turmeric, ginger and cook for another 3 minutes. Add in chicken broth, chicken breasts, lemon juice, zest and thyme. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 12 minutes. Reduce soup to low heat. Remove chicken breasts and with two forks, shred chicken into bite size pieces. Return chicken to the soup and simmer for another 10 minutes. While soup is simmering for the last 10 minutes, cook couscous until al dente – about 10 minutes. Strain couscous through a sieve so not to lose your pearls! Once strained, stir into the soup. Season with salt and pepper Serve warm with a garnish of fresh chopped parsley and dill, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and if so desired, a sprinkling of chili flakes. Don’t forget the crusty artisan bread!
COOK’S NOTES
- I make bone broth, so my broth is thicker and more flavorful than most. The benefit of making broth is you have the basics to make this soup ~ both the chicken meat and the slurpable good broth. However, if you do not have time to make bone broth, you can use a good store bought organic broth and organic chicken breasts. I like TJ’s organic chicken broth. This recipe is set up for the simpler version of preparing this dish.