A simple and hearty chicken soup. The shredded chicken, generous black pepper, and a sprinkle of chili flakes make for a belly warming soup.
When Nathan and I got married, I was terrible at making soup. I would make healthy soups packed to the brim with vegetables but they would lack flavour. I always struggled to get the seasoning right.
Now four years later, I have a few soup recipes in my arsenal that always seem to work. And I’ve gotten better at improvising soups. Which is useful when ingredients need to be used up.
This simple and hearty chicken soup recipe was born out of pure necessity. It was cold outside so we craved soup and there were vegetables that soon would go off.
I knew that I had struck gold when Nathan told me that this was, and I quote, “one of the best soups I have ever eaten, even when I look at soups that I’ve had in restaurants”.
Nathan is a good cook and we are always brutally honest with each other when we think that a meal could be improved. So of course the rushed sound of scribbling ensued as I retraced the steps that I’d taken to create this soup.
I’ve since tested the ingredients and instructions to make sure that it results in that same wonderful, belly warming soup. And it does!
So, if you are feeling the cold and want to create a simple yet flavourful chicken soup. Then make sure to keep on reading. Or, if you prefer a virtual aid, make sure to watch the video.
WATCH THE VIDEO
INGREDIENTS
Chicken breast fillets – skinless and boneless
Chicken stock – I use OXO stock cubes to make it
Swede
Carrots
Fresh parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
Chilli flakes
Cornflour
HOW TO MAKE HEARTY CHICKEN SOUP
Fry the chicken breast fillets with olive oil on a medium fire. Ideally in a big cast iron pan so you won’t have to use a separate saucepan for the soup. But if you don’t have that, use a frying pan now, and a big saucepan later to prepare the rest of the soup.
While the chicken is frying, boil the water for the chicken stock in the kettle.
Once the chicken breast fillets are fried and have a golden hue to them, shred them. I do this with the help of a hand mixer in the pan. If you used a frying pan to fry the chicken, you’ll want to shred the chicken in the big saucepan. Leave the shredded chicken in the pan.
Cut up the vegetables. Cut the swede in 2 cm cubes. Cut the carrots in half lengthways and then slice them. Add the vegetables to the shredded chicken.
When the water has boiled, add this to the cast iron pan (or to the saucepan) and crumble the stock cubes over it. Let it come to a boil.
Once the vegetables are cooked to your liking, add roughly chopped up parsley, a lot of freshly cracked pepper and the chili flakes to the soup.
Mix the cornflour with a bit of water to make a paste and add this to the soup to thicken it. It’s up to you how thick you’d like the soup to be. I like the consistency of the soup to be like cream of chicken soup.
A Simple and Hearty Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 chicken breast fillets
- 1.2 litre stock I used 3 chicken stock cubes.
- 1/2 swede
- 2 carrots Generous sized ones.
- Parsley Fresh. A lot.
- Freshly milled black pepper
- 0.5-1.5 tsp Chili flakes
- 4-6 tbsp Cornflour
Instructions
- Fry the chicken breast fillets with olive oil on a medium fire. Ideally in a big cast iron pan so you won’t have to use a separate saucepan for the soup. But if you don’t have that, use a frying pan now, and a big saucepan later to prepare the rest of the soup.
- While the chicken is frying, boil the water for the chicken stock in the kettle.
- Once the chicken breast fillets are fried and have a golden hue to them, shred them. I do this with the help of a hand mixer in the pan. If you used a frying pan to fry the chicken, you’ll want to shred the chicken in the big saucepan. Leave the shredded chicken in the pan.
- Cut up the vegetables. Cut the swede in 2 cm cubes. Cut the carrots in half lengthways and then slice them. Add the vegetables to the shredded chicken.
- When the water has boiled, add this to the cast iron pan (or to the saucepan) and crumble the stock cubes over it. Let it come to a boil.
- Once the vegetables are cooked to your liking, add roughly chopped up parsley, a lot of freshly cracked pepper and the chili flakes to the soup.
- Mix the cornflour with a bit of water to make a paste and add this to the soup to thicken it. It’s up to you how thick you’d like the soup to be. I like the consistency of the soup to be like cream of chicken soup.
