After a weekend of close contact with tiny germ carriers (otherwise known as our lovable nieces and nephews), I have become sick.
Thankfully, my fever is gone, but the bug is still bringing me down. I even missed a day of work, my first in several years.
However, nothing helps me feel better faster than a bowl of the Chef’s chicken soup.
The soup, thrown together in all of 20 minutes with leftover chicken and greens from the garden costs very little to make. The spiciness of the cherry peppers works as a natural decongestant and the heat warms my chilly self, giving me a much needed burst of energy.
Spicy Chicken Soup
1 ea whole chicken
5 oz carrot (peeled and small diced)
1-4 fresh cherry peppers (small diced)
3-4 sprigs rosemary (picked and chopped)
5-6 sprigs fresh thyme (picked and chopped)
4 ea stalks celery (small diced)
1 ea lg onions (small diced)
4 Plum tomatoes or 16 oz can petite diced tomatoes
1 lb green beans (chopped small)
2 ea lg handfuls of braising greens
4 ea fresh garlic bulbs
3 ea Potatoes (sm diced)
2 cups uncooked acini di pepe pasta or rice
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cp EVOO
Place whole chicken in a pot large enough to cover with
water. Bring to a simmer covered and cook until the chicken is fully cooked
about 45 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking cut all of your vegetables.
In a second pan add oil and heat on med-high. Add vegetables
starting with carrots, rosemary, and celery, cover and sweat for 5 minutes. Add
onions, cherry peppers, braising greens, tomatoes and potatoes, cover and cook
for another 5 minutes. Remove lid and turn the heat down to low.
Remove chicken from the liquid and pull the meat from the
bones and add to the vegetable mixture. Season mixture with salt and pepper,
and add the liquid.
At this time pasta or rice can be added to be cooked in the
soup. Bring to a simmer and cook for another fifteen minutes to infuse all of
the flavors. Adjust seasoning, and
serve. Serve with a wedge of lemon or lime to be squeezed into the soup to
brighten the flavor.
