Image courtesy of Abby Wittekind
This soup is a crowd favorite around here regardless of what’s ailing us. Whether it’s a cold, the flu, or a nasty stomach bug, this chicken soup is sure to soothe and heal whatever has you feeling lousy.
Ingredients:
- 1 3-4lb pasture-raised chicken
- 12-15 cloves fresh garlic
- 2 c baby carrots
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk
- 2 T dried parsley
- 1 T crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 T sea salt
- black pepper to taste
Procedure:
- Place chicken in a large, heavy pot. Cover chicken with purified water and bring to boil. Boil for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 3-4 hours.
- Remove chicken from broth and set aside to cool. Then add the fresh garlic, dried parsley, crushed red pepper flakes, and carrots to the broth and continue to simmer on medium-low to medium.
- When the chicken is cool enough to handle, separate the meat from the bones and gristle. Shred any larger bits of chicken before returning the meat to the simmering soup. Reserve the bones and gristle for future use. (I save mine to make stock.)
- Simmer the soup for as long as you like. I usually simmer mine for another 4-8 hours depending on when I started the soup. Just before it’s “done” though, don’t forget to add the can of coconut milk and the sea salt and pepper to taste. I find that adding these these at the end gives the soup a richer, more balanced flavor, but I suppose that’s a matter of preference.
Note: I’ve also started this soup with home-canned stock and home-canned chicken or turkey. I’ve added all kinds of veggies including summer squash, tomatoes, cauliflower, mushrooms, and onion. It just depends on what I have around, but the basic soup always includes poultry, coconut milk, LOTS of garlic, dried parsley, and crushed red pepper flakes.