Wintertime is the perfect season to warm up with a cozy bowl of soup, and this chicken soup recipe has the added benefit of nixing the noodles and adding more vegetables, which are chock full of vitamins and nutrients. Plus, the entire recipe is gluten and dairy-free.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tsp. oil
- ½ cup diced white onions
- 2 cups sliced leeks (2 small leeks or 1 large one)
- 1.5 cups sliced carrots (about 2 large carrots)
- 6 cups chicken stock (or 6 cups water with 2 chicken bouillon cubes)
- ½ tsp. dried Oregano, divided
- ½ tsp. dried Thyme, divided
- ½ tsp. dried Parsley, divided
- 3 cups small Cauliflower florets, (about 1 small head)
- ½ of a Zucchini, sliced and halved
- 1 pound of chicken, organic boneless skinless tenders
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- A pinch of crushed chili flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
- Put 1 tsp. of oil with ½ cup of diced onion into a soup pan and cook for 3 minutes over medium heat, until translucent and fragrant. Add 1 cup of sliced leeks to the pan and mix (try to get all the rings out of each other while mixing), cook for 2 minutes. Then add 1.5 cups of sliced carrots, mix, and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add 4 cups of chicken stock/broth (or 4 cups water with 2 chicken bouillon cubes) to the pan. Top with ¼ tsp. oregano, ¼ tsp. thyme, and ¼ tsp. parsley. Mix, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- While that is simmering, start making the chicken. Sprinkle oil into a frying pan and heat over medium heat, then put the chicken into the pan. Add 1 cup of sliced leeks to the pan (mix to get the rings out of each other), ½ tsp. garlic powder, ¼ tsp. oregano, ¼ tsp. thyme, ¼ tsp. parsley, and a pinch of crushed chili flakes on top of the chicken and mix. Cook for about 10 minutes, flipping every so often.
- Put 3 cups of small cauliflower florets into the soup pan and add 2 cups of chicken stock to the pan (or water), let it continue simmering.
- Remove the chicken from the pan leaving the leeks to caramelize. Add 2 Tbsp. of water to the leeks and mix, let them cook while cutting the chicken. Cut the chicken into tiny pieces and put them back into the pan with the leeks. Mix and then put the chicken and leeks into the soup pan.
- Add the zucchini to the soup and let everything lightly boil for about 15 minutes. ( If you want your soup more liquidy add 1 more cup liquid. If you want it more chunky, leave as is). (Note: It tastes great adding some herbs de Provence to the chicken and the soup, and also some fennel with the onions.)