Comforting Rustic Chicken Soup Recipe
Key Notes: Low carb, paleo, diabetic friendly, keto
The chilly weather is upon us and that means cold and flu season is here too!
This rustic chicken soup is bursting with robust flavor since we use the bones as well to make the broth.
You don’t need to be sick to enjoy it, and it’s a wonderful meal for frosty nights and wintry mornings.
Organic, free range chickens have far superior flavor and texture to the tasteless, mushy meat of your regular generic grocery store chicken that have been pumped full of antibiotics.
So it is better as it makes you feel better!
You can use a whole organic cornish game hen, half a whole chicken (stew or otherwise), or bone in chicken thighs.
While chicken breasts can be used, the real value of this soup is the bone broth packed with vitamins and minerals.
Although you don’t need to parboil the meat first, we usually do so in order to have a clearer broth and cleaner flavor.
Stewed until the meat all but falls off the bone, it can be done in a quarter of the time in a pressure cooker. However, there’s no harm in making it stove-top, since it will fill your house with the familiar and comforting flavor.
Serve it with a lemon wedge for a bright burst of flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 whole organic cornish game hen, half a whole chicken, or 5-6 bone in chicken thighs
- ½ organic white or vidalia onion, diced (avoid if allium intolerant)
- 1 tablespoon organic olive oil
- 1 organic carrot, peeled and cut into ¼ inch rounds
- 1 stalk organic celery, cut into 1.4 inch segments
- ½ teaspoon organic dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon organic fresh parsley, minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Lemon wedges for garnish
- Bring a pot of water to boil. Submerge chicken in boiling water for 8 – 10 minutes until parboiled. Pour out scummy water and set chicken to the side.
- In the same pot over medium high heat, sautee diced onions in olive oil until translucent. Add carrots and celery and cook for 1 – 2 minutes more to bring out their flavor.
- Add oregano and parsley, cornish game hen, half a whole chicken, or 5 – 6 bone in chicken thighs and add enough water to cover everything.
- Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice to help leach vitamins and minerals from bones while it cooks.
- Bring pot to a rolling boil and then lower the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 3 – 4 hours, until the meat is tender.
- Serve with salt and pepper and a lemon wedge, some more minced parsley if desired. Do not salt soup until ready to serve, as it can make the meat tough.