Spring is almost here, and the coronavirus is on everyone’s mind. If you are feeling under the weather or looking to boost your system, a warming, dill-laced, gingery chicken soup is one of my favorite remedies. This soup is not going to protect you from a specific virus but, by boosting your immune system (and washing your hands), you are making yourself less susceptible to illness.
Consuming chicken soup to help speed up recovery when sick is not just an old wives’ tale. Chicken contains the amino acid cysteine, which may be helpful in breaking down mucus. The hot temperature of warm soup may increase the flow of a runny nose, assisting in the release of pathogens from the body. Additionally, the iron in chicken helps T cell proliferation - essential cells which help to fight infections. The recipe for this soup has an additional advantage of immunity boosters from turmeric, ginger, lime, and chili flakes for a fully charged meal.
This turmeric ginger soup is a more traditional version of chicken soup than my previous recipe linked here. Both are not complicated, but this version has more steps since you make the chicken stock, utilize the chicken from the stock, strain out the aromatics, and finish cooking the soup in the homemade stock. My previous version is also delicious and more along the lines of a one-pot “dump” recipe, which I truly enjoy. The choice of soup depends on how traditional and involved you want to be since both options are flavorful, are laced with immune boosting ingredients, and provide you with plenty of leftovers.
Immune Boosting Turmeric Ginger Chicken Soup
This recipe is a mash up of my “not your mama’s j-pen” and an iteration of the “classic chicken soup” from Bon Appetite. I recommend trying to use all organic ingredients since you are building the stock from vegetables that have the skin on.
serves 6
1 organic chicken - 3 to 4 pounds (Feel free to also use parts. I recommended bone in pieces for more flavor.)
Kosher salt
2 yellow onions, quartered, skin left on
1 whole head garlic, sliced in half, peel left on
4-inch knob of ginger, sliced into coins, skin on
4 carrots, peeled and divided
4 stalks of celery, divided
1 tablespoon ground turmeric or, if you can find fresh turmeric, a 2- inch knob thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
1/2 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 bunch dill
1 large parsnip, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch diagonal pieces
1 large turnip, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch quartered moons
6 oz of small whole grain/alternative grain pasta, ditalini, elbows, orzo, wheels, etc
2 cups baby spinach or baby kale
2 limes, sliced for serving
Chili flakes and black pepper for serving
Season chicken inside and out with 3 teaspoons of salt.
Coarsely chop 2 carrots and 2 stalks of celery.
In a large stock pot, add the chicken, onions, garlic, ginger, cut carrots, cut celery, turmeric, bay leaves, peppercorns, 3 to 4 sprigs of dill, and 12 cups of filtered water. Bring liquid to a simmer and let remain at a simmer for 30 minutes. As foam collects to the surface, skim off as needed.
Set a cutting board nearby. Remove the chicken using tongs and a large spoon and transfer to the board. Using an instant-read thermometer, check the temperature of the thickest part of the breast. If it registers 155 degrees F or higher, proceed to the next step. If it is less than 155 F, continue cooking chicken an additional 7 to 8 minutes until that temperature is achieved.
Let chicken cool and proceed to breaking it down. (If you are using chicken parts remove pieces. Remove skin if any pieces have, return thighs and wings back to the pot, keep the breast out.) Arrange chicken breast side up. Using a sharpe knife, remove the wings first. Pull the wing outward, cut the joint to separate from the breast, and remove the wing. Repeat with the other wing. For the legs and thighs, cut through the skin that connects the thigh joint to the carcass. Pop the ball joint out of the socket and cut through the joint removing the leg. Repeat on the other side. To remove the breasts, cut along the left side of the breastbone, which runs down the center of the breast. Tilt your knife so you can cut the meat away easily from the carcass. Turn the bird so that the other half of the breast is on the left side, and repeat the cutting process. Remove the skin from the legs, thighs, breasts, and carcass and return everything but the breasts back to the pot.
Bring the soup to simmer and cook for an additional hour.
Shred the chicken breasts once they are cooled and set aside. Cut the remaining 2 carrots and 2 stalks of celery into 1/2- inch diagonal pieces.
Remove the chicken legs and thighs to a cutting board to cool and shred. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the pot of stock into another pot or dutch oven. Throw out the strained vegetables, carcass, bones, and wings. They have served their purpose and yielded their flavors to the stock.
Bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta al dente. Drain and set aside. While the pasta cooks, add the shredded chicken, parsnips, turnips, carrots, and celery to the simmering stock and cook for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are just tender, but not mushy.
To serve, add the spinach or kale, and pasta to a bowl, ladle in the soup. Finish with lots of dill, fresh lime juice, chili flakes, salt, and pepper.
