There's something so comforting about chicken soup. Everything in this recipe - minus the lentils & tomato paste - is local and in season and perfect for cool winter days. This makes a big pot of nutrient dense, delicious warming goodness perfect for cold days 🍲
1 large onion, diced
Head of celery, diced
4-5 medium carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt, pepper & spices to taste
1 can tomato paste (6 oz)
~12 cups (3 quarts) chicken or vegetable broth (I cook a whole chicken to make the broth first)
2 cups French dried lentils
1 pound shredded chicken (rotisserie or pulled from the whole chicken for broth)
Fresh cilantro
OPTIONAL - shiitake, portabella or maitake mushrooms ~1 cup
INSTRUCTIONS
🍲If you're making the broth from scratch, cook a whole chicken 4-6 hours on simmer in ~3.5 quarts water. Pull off meat & shred, put aside. Strain broth into a pot and put aside.
🥕Chop the celery, carrots, garlic & onions (and optionally the mushrooms) and season with salt & pepper
🍅Sautee the vegetables until tender in extra virgin olive oil. Add in tomato paste and cover the veggies. Cook until the tomato paste has saturated the veggies, 3-4 minutes.
Add veggies to broth. Add in lentils and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and add in shredded chicken. Summer for roughly 45 minutes. Season with Italian seasoning to taste.
Before serving, chop fresh cilantro and add to soup. Enjoy 🍽
TIPS- for a quicker meal, you can use store bought broth or a rotisserie chicken for shredded chicken.
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