"Winter Chicken Soup"

Winter has been pretty brutal for some of us this year and I was recently craving something warm, nutritious, filling, and of course delicious. I feel that a great soup can never go wrong, no matter the time of year. Chicken soup, in particular, is a wonderful dish that can be easily adjusted throughout the year, highlighting the season's bounty.
For this chicken soup recipe I went with leeks instead of onions, auyama (West Indian squash) instead of potatoes, and added a piece of ginger and some turmeric to further highlight this soup's healing properties. If you can't find West Indian squash in your local grocery store or farmers market, feel free to replace it with any other type of firm squash you can find. You may also omit this ingredient all together, but I certainly love the "body" this vegetable adds to a soup like this. You will notice that I lightly brown the chicken legs at the beginning and add sliced ginger, too. Lightly browning your chicken produces a bolder, more flavorful soup, and the ginger gives it an additional warming component. You're not looking for a crispy sear on the legs as the skin will be removed, but this step will give deeper chicken flavor. The additional touch of apple cider vinegar will also add healing properties to the soup. This recipe was made as a quick lunch, so the soup cooks wonderfully in a little over an hour. That said, the longer you can leave this soup on the stove the better and more flavorful it will be!
I hope you will enjoy this dish as much as my family did and please send me your feedback!
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Ingredients:
2 Large Carrots, diced
2 Stalks of Celery, with Leaves, diced
1 Whole Leek, sliced
1 Large Piece of Ginger, thinly sliced
1/4 of an Auyama, West Indian Squash, cut into large chunks
1 Bunch of Flat Leaf Parsley, finely chopped
1 lb of Chicken Legs
1/2 Tbsp. Ground Turmeric
2 Large Bay Leaves
1/4 tsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
4 Cups of Water
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
1. Begin by cleaning and scrubbing your vegetables and prepare them by dicing them into even sizes so that they may all cook at the same time.
2. Once your vegetables are ready, begin heating up your pot. Because of the amount of content going into the soup, make sure you use a deep pot with enough space.
3. While your pot is coming up to a medium high temperature, season your chicken legs with salt, pepper, and the turmeric. Add a tiny touch of oil to facilitate an equal distribution of the dry seasonings onto the legs. Set aside.
4. Once your pot is ready, add a light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. You want to keep this light as the chicken will also render some fat. Add your sliced ginger to the oil so that it begins to sear. Once fragrant, add your chicken legs. Make sure the heat is high enough where your items are not burning!
5. Once the legs have been lightly browned and can be removed from the pot easily without any give, remove and set aside.
6. Add all of your remaining ingredients (except for the squash), and add only half of the amount of parsley. Add your vinegar and scrape all the bits at the bottom of the pot with your spoon. Mix all ingredients together and add additional salt and pepper to taste.
7. Return the chicken legs to the pot, add your water and bay leaves and bring up to a boil. Boil on medium high for 20-30 min. Then reduce to a medium simmer and cover the pot. Cook down for 1 hour.
8. Once the chicken legs are tender, remove from the pot and shred the meat off the bone with a fork. This should fall apart very easily. Discard the bones and skin.
9. Return the shredded chicken to the pot of soup and NOW add your squash pieces. Simmer for an additional 15-20min, adding more water to the pot if you feel it has "dried" out too much.
10. Your soup is now ready to serve! Sprinkle the remaining parsley on top of each dish and serve with some sliced lemons, and a side of warm crusty bread with creamy salted butter, (the perfect compliment to this warming and fortifying winter chicken soup)!
#chickensoup #culinary #knifebible #cooking #winter