Chicken Soup Recipe with a Twist

My mother and grandmother were great soup makers. Me, until recently, not so much. But this year we’ve been trying to waste less so I decided to have a go at making Chicken Soup from scratch. Now I’m addicted! Not only do we get a whole chicken to eat, we have at least three meals of soup after. And this is all for around $12 if you buy a huge free-range chicken and vegetable ingredients. To begin my quest for a soup recipe I of course looked for the quickest and easiest method. What I came up with was a hybrid Chicken Soup Recipe with a twist. I’ve tweaked the recipe in the month or so we’ve been eating it. You can try it out for yourself below. But be warned. It is yummy!

The Benefits of Eating Chicken Soup

Okay, I thought it was an old wives’ tale until recently. But it seems eating chicken soup when you feel sick can be very beneficial. Last week I had an awful sinus infection. A couple of bowls of soup and a few cups of honey lemon tea made with honey from our bees later and I’m cured! I’m not saying the soup did the trick completely. But I think the combination of all these natural foods with healing properties really helped. Here are a few reasons you should incorporate a Chicken Soup Recipe into your menu.

• Chicken soup has amazing results in strengthening the immune response to fighting off cold viruses, including runny nose and cough. Scientists confirmed that chicken soup can inhibit cold symptoms and prevent the migration of the cold virus.
• Chicken soup is also great for keeping you hydrated when you aren’t feeling well because it’s filled with electrolytes. The natural salts, the warm soup and steam can be very beneficial in helping to clear mucus membranes and sooth irritated passageways in your nose and throat.
• The ingredients you add to your soup can also contain immune boosting antioxidants and nutrients. I use onions, carrots, celery and parsley all of which are packed with nutrients.

What to put in Your Chicken Soup Recipe

• A roasted chicken. I use free range chicken. It has naturally less fat and does not require two lots of straining beacuse of this
• 2 onions
• 4 carrots
• 4 long sticks of celery
• 1/2 cup Peas
• 1 cup Broccoli
• 1 cup of green beans
• Salt and pepper to taste. I used roughly three tablespoons of salt. It sounds a lot but it does not taste salty. (We don’t use salt on our food so we are sensitvie to the taste and this was not noticable at all)

What to Do

For this chicken soup recipe, you need to start by roasting the chicken. If you need to save time, a BBQ chicken from the supermarket will do though for premium benefits cooking your own is best. I sprinkle our chicken with Portuguese Chicken seasoning before roasting. Once the chicken is ready, strip the meat from the bones and enjoy! I saved a breast to add to my soup.

To make the soup:

• Put the chicken carcass in a large boiling pot
• Cut the onions in half, dont bother to peel. Add to the pot
• Cut the celery and carrots in half. Again, dont peel
• Cover with water so every thing is well submerged, including the chicken
• Add two good slugs of salt and a few turns of pepper
• Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer partially covered for around two hours

(You may need to add extra water as you go depending on how high your stove simmers. I try to keep the water level topped up so everything remains covered)

Drain all the vegetables and chicken from the liquid and leave to cool. I found the quickest way to do this was to put it in the freezer. It helped the fat to rise and solidify enough so it could be skimmed from the top. You DO NOT want to leave the fat in the liquid. It tastes disgusting!

Once you have drained the fat and vegetables, you should have a clear liquid. This is the base of the soup. To this add:

• peeled and sliced carrots
• sliced celery sticks
• any other vegetables. I used chopped broccoli, frozen peas and sliced green beans ( cut about 2cm long)
• slice your chicken breast or pull it into slithers if this is how you prefer.

Put all this into the liquid

Now add

• Tumeric to taste (around 1/2 Tsp)
• a handful of chopped fresh parsley OR a Tsp of dry Italian Mixed Herbs
• more salt and pepper to taste

Let the mixture simmer until everything is cooked and heated through around 20-30 mins.

Serve with a slice of crusty beer bread and butter