"Soul Fixer" Chicken Soup
I'm a one man soup kitchen these days.
It's quite literally all I've been making ... and it's oddly addicting. I've been a fan of A Cozy Kitchen's blog for over a year now and seriously everything this woman makes is incredible. So last weekend it was oddly good timing that I had a small case of the sniffles coming on ... and she posted an incredible chicken soup.
and. I. Mean. Incredible.
Seriously.
The soup brought me a bit outside my comfort zone in that I had to buy a different cut of chicken ... and use an excessively amazing amount of cilantro. I tend to hate cilantro when people overload their salsa with it ... so I was a bit apprehensive, but it was awesome.
I made a few changes to the recipe to suit my cooking style. I don't like bones so I bought de-boned chicken thighs .... and I like to use frozen corn just to keep life easy.
The one hiccup in my chicken soup plan? I made it a few hours before I was going to eat it. So, it looked delicious and more "soupy" at 5pm than it did at 8pm when I ate it. At 8, it looked (as you can see) much thicker. And then when I had the leftovers a few days later, it was like I was eating risotto. So, I need to learn how to remedy that rice situation. But ... even then... days later... the soup is amazing. I even included google evidence:
As a result, I've labeled this "soul fixer" chicken soup... or Peruvian Chicken Soup. You pick.
So this is how you make it:
(Step 1) Add cilantro leaves, serrano pepper, 2 garlic cloves and 1/4 cup of chicken broth to a blender. Blend until mixture is thoroughly combined. Set aside. This looks a little like some toxic sludge .... but you can already tell this soup is amazing at this point. Right?
(Step 2) In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken thighs on one side for about 4 minutes (or slightly brown). Flip those babes and do the other side. I had to do about 2 batches of chicken - so this was honestly the most labor/time intensive part of the whole thing. Pull the chicken from the pot and let it hang out and watch the rest of the show.
(Step 3) Add yellow onion to the pot and cook until they soften a bunch. Like 5 minutes-ish. Next, add red bell pepper, ground cumin, and minced garlic allowing to cook for 1-2 more minutes.
(Step 4) Add the rice and cilantro liquid sludge to the pot and mix that business around real good. At this point, you will have to resist just eating it because seriously it looks amazing. I chopped up the chicken and added it back into the pot with the chicken broth.
(Step 5) Be patient for 30 minutes while the rice cooks away.
(Step 6) When you want to eat, add in the corn and any necessary salt for flavor just before serving.
(Step 7) Be sure to serve the soup with a wedge of lime. You make think its for decoration, but it isn't. It is seriously amazing. Like, if you eat this at work take lime with you to the office. For reals.
Shopping List
3/4 cup cilantro leaves
1 serrano pepper, halved and de-seeded
4 garlic cloves (2 whole garlic cloves and 2 garlic cloves minced), divided
4 1/4 cups chicken broth, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 chicken thighs, de-boned
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup white rice
1 cup of frozen corn
Salt to taste
1 lime
1 serrano pepper, halved and de-seeded
4 garlic cloves (2 whole garlic cloves and 2 garlic cloves minced), divided
4 1/4 cups chicken broth, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 chicken thighs, de-boned
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup white rice
1 cup of frozen corn
Salt to taste
1 lime
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