Chicken Lemon Soup

I am a strong believer in chicken soup for someone with a cold or flu. It’s just that wonderfully, comforting feeling of hot soup going down your throat, soothing the itchiness as it goes along, that makes me want it. So as soon as that itchy feeling starts, I have to make chicken soup. I add the chilies to give it a kick; nothing helps open your sinuses like a little spice.

I used the basic chicken soup recipe from this month’s ‘Everyday with Rachael Ray’ but added a whole lot of stuff, to make it more flavorful. I would have preferred to use chicken with bone in for this recipe, but I only had boneless breasts at home, and felt lazy to wonder out into the snow and cold. I would go with chicken with the bone in, especially all those backs with very little meat on them, they really release that nice meaty taste.

Chicken Lemon Soup

1 pnd chicken pieces

1 bunch carrots (about 5-7), skinned and cut into pieces

1 bunch celery (about 8-10 stalks), leaves removed, cut into pieces

1 onion, medium sized, chopped

1 green pepper, cut into large squares

2-3 green chilies, slit lengthwise (optional)

3 cans chicken stock (about 1.5 liters)

3-4 whole black peppercorns

1 whole cardamom

2-3 whole cloves

1X1 inch stick cinnamon

Salt to taste

1 lime’s juice

½ tsp powdered thyme

Cut all vegetables to approximately the same size. In a soup pot, put in the onions, carrots, celery, and pepper, until the vegetables on the bottom start to brown. As soon as they do, add in the chicken stock and pieces. Put all the whole spices (cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and peppercorns) into an herb bag and immerse it in the pot. Try to cover the entire bag in stock. Put a lid on the pot, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for an hour, until all the vegetables are soft.

Once the stock is ready, add the green chilies and simmer for another 20 minutes. Next remove the chicken and shred using two forks. Set aside.  Remove the vegetables and chop them fine. Add the chicken and the vegetables back into the stock. After that stir in the thyme powder, and the lemon juice, and bring to a boil. Remove the herb infuser. Serve hot with toast or croutons and get well soon.