Now here is a hearty chicken soup with so many different nutrient packed foods – an absolute must on the meal roster for cold and flu season. Bone-in chicken adds deep flavour to the broth along with lentils, sweet potatoes and rapini (also known as broccoli rabe). Unlike pureed soups or the classic chicken noodle soup, this hearty chicken soup has a variety of colours, vitamins and minerals making it an ideal meal for feeling nourished and satisfied.
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Yields:
4-6 servings
Ingredients:
- Onion, 1 medium, diced
- Scotch bonnet, 1, diced (You can substitute with your choice of hot or sweet pepper)
- Chicken, 1lb., bone-in
- Garlic powder, 1 tbsp.
- Paprika, 1 tbsp.
- Ground Coriander, 1 tbsp.
- Salted meat such as crumbled sausage, ½ cup
- Green lentils, 1 cup
- Carrot, 1 medium, diced
- Sweet potato, 2 medium, cubed
- Rapini (broccoli rabe), 1 bunch, roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
What you’ll need:
- Knife and cutting board
- Veg peeler
- Soup pot
- Wooden or s/s spoon
- Fine colander
- Prep bowls
What to do:
Clean and dice the onion and pepper. Heat 2 tbsp. of olive oil (or your choice of healthy fat) over medium heat and sweat the onion and pepper.
When it starts to soften, add in the chicken, season generously with salt and pepper. Cover the pot with a lid to cook out the blood in the bones.
Remove the lid to add the garlic, paprika and coriander – cook out until fragrant. Add 10 cups of water to cover the chicken and bring to a boil. Adjust heat to a medium simmer and let cook for 20 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking, rinse the lentils and remove the sausage meat from its casing. Cut the carrot, sweet potatoes and rapini as directed in the ingredients list.
Once the chicken is cooked through, remove it from the liquid and set aside. Strain the broth through a fine colander and return to a boil on the stovetop. With your hands shred the meat off the chicken bones.
Crumble the sausage meat with your fingers while placing it in the broth. Add the green lentils, carrot and sweet potatoes.
Cook at a medium heat for 10 minutes then add the rapini and chicken pieces. Continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes until lentils and veg are tender. Adjust the seasoning before serving.