Immune Boosting – Cold and Flu Busting – Chicken Soup

You know us by now, we just love an easy meal. We always have a pot of this boiling away slowly on the stove. Guess who WON’T be getting sick this winter!

This is a ‘throw it all in a pot’ type recipe and a great way of using up those half soggy vegetables in the bottom of the fridge. Half an uneaten tomato? Throw it in! 1 shrivelled zucchini? Throw it in! The recipe isnot limited to chicken either, with lamb, beef and pork bones also making a delicious alternative.

Any kitchen should always have a stock on hand, as stock is  low fat and packed full of flavour. Instead of a creamy pasta sauce, we often make a pasta dish and just use a splash of stock as the sauce. Add to risotto, as the base for pumpkin soup or as an afternoon pink-me-up during winter.

Nutritionally, soup made of bones is packed full of important minerals and has been used for centuries for the treatment of various ailments from the common cold to tummy upsets. It is an ancient form of medicine. Making a soup using bones means the minerals such as potassium, magnesium, calcium and phosphorous leech from the bones into the soup that you then drink.

As well as this, the marrow and cartilage from the bones contain amino acids and fats that the body can use to prevent inflammation and lubricate joints. The collagen and gelatin within the bones also contains essential amino acids and minerals which can aid digestion, help to build new cells and heal wounds.

Most stock you buy from the supermarket is laden with high amounts of salt, MSG, and flavours. They are also expensive when you compare them to the price of making your own. You can make approximately 6 litres for $5.

• Approximately 1 kg of chicken necks, or chicken drumsticks. Any type of chicken  you can get your hands on with bone. The minerals will be drawn out of the bone and into the soup to make it super nutritious. We buy chicken necks for about $4 per kilo at our local supermarket, or you can ask your butcher.
• 1 whole knob garlic. Peel and cut each clove in half
• 4 whole onions. Peel and cut into quarters
• 3 whole carrots unpeeled, chopped into large pieces
• 5 stalks of celery chopped roughly
• 5 spring onions. Remove the roots, and chop into 5 cm pieces.
• Handful of goji berries (optional)
• 1 palm sized knob of ginger. Peel and slice roughly.
• Water

Method:

• Cover the ingredients with cold water until completely submerged.
• Put the soup onto a low heat. Cover with lid. Watch the temperature very closely in the beginning.
• Small bubbles should slowly and softly be breaking the surface. If the soup is boiling, the heat is too high.
• Leave slowly bubbling for 2 hours, up to 6 hours.
• You will need to skim and discard the top of the soup as the meat proteins raise to the top, every hour.
• Taste the soup, and add a sprinkling of salt , soy sauce/tamari if required.
• With tongs, remove the chicken necks from the soup. Pick the meat from the bones and add the meat back into the soup. Or, leave the necks in the soup and serve as is for people to eat from the bone.
• Eat it all up! If you can, eat the ginger, garlic and onion pieces to REALLY get the most out of the soup.
• Add cooked noodles if you wish for a totally satisfying, nutritionally complete dish. Take a look at our Easy Peasy Chinesy Soup
• You can also strain this soup, and freeze it for all natural and delicious chicken stock to be used in all your cooking.

Add cooked noodles if you wish for a totally satisfying, nutritionally complete dish.

And say….’catcha later cold and flu’ KAPOW!

You might also like our other soup recipes

• Nutritious Stew – Oxtail or Beef
• Pumpkin Soup – like you have never tasted before
• Beetroot, Lentil and Parmesan Soup