My mother would make this dish every summer just as the green beans and new potatoes were harvested from the garden. I just updated the recipe to include chicken. There is nothing like fresh vegetables from the garden, this brings back some great memories.
In a cast iron pan, add bacon and cook until fat is rendered.
Add onion, garlic, and chicken cook until brown.
Place in slow cooker.
Add potatoes, green beans, salt, pepper, thyme and 2 cups of vegetable stock.
Cook on lowest setting 4-6 hours. Serve with a great crusty piece of bread.
Molokhia (also known as molokheya and mloukhieh) is a viscous green soup traditionally made with leaves from the Jute Mallow plant that are steeped in a garlicky-coriander flavored chicken, duck, meat or shrimp broth. Super healthy and absolutely delicious, this Egyptian specialty is ideal on a cool fall or winter’s day!
Make the base broth (some of which will be used to make the molokehya stew): Rinse the organic chicken under running water, rub with salt, rinse well, and place in a deep stainless steel pot. Add enough water to cover the chicken and set on high heat. Add onion (chopped in fourths), bay leaves, cardamom pods, salt and pepper to the boiling chicken. Lower to medium heat and cook for 45 minutes (for an organic chicken) or 1-2 hours (for pastured chicken with tougher meat) until chicken is fully cooked and has reached an internal temperature of 165 F).
Roast the chicken: Remove the cooked chicken and place it in a baking dish. Add a tablespoon of ghee, and your herbs or spices of choice, spread it on the chicken, and broil in the oven for 10-12 minutes on a temparature of 400F until golden brown, flipping the chicken on the other side to roast midway.
Make the garlic-coriander mixture: Using a mortar and pestle or a handheld electric grinder, crush 15 cloves of garlic. In a separate pot, melt 1 tablespoon of butter or ghee and add the crushed garlic. Add 1 tablespoon of ground coriander and a few drops of lemon juice to the garlic. Sauté the mixture for 2 minutes or until a little browned.
Mix it all together: Add 8-10 cups of the freshly made chicken broth to the garlic-coriander mixture. Simmer for 2 minutes. Try to break the molokhia (if frozen) into a few pieces first, then add them to the soup, stirring continuously to break up the frozen pieces. Boil only for 3-5 minutes until the molokhia is well mixed and then boil for a few additional seconds. Make sure not to overcook or keep boiling as molokhia needs to be suspended (overcooking makes the leaves fall to the bottom).
Eat the stew: Many people add rice to the molokhia, and some add crushed pieces of toasted pita bread. Others, like my grandma, would add the roasted chicken or duck, cut up into pieces into the molokhia. Personally, I now do neither. If I have rice, I only add a spoonful of organic sprouted rice. And I enjoy the roasted bird or meat on the side, to better savor the flavors individually. But of course, there is no hard rule about how to eat molokhia – it is a matter of preference and tradition! In any case, the only rule is to savor every bite and to eat it while hot, because the flavor of molokhia is unparalleled.
Soup is my favorite wintertime meal, and because it is so easy to make in bulk it is also my favorite stock up meal. I love that it takes just a tiny bit more effort to make soup for 3 meals as it does for 1 meal. This soup has it all for me, creamy and still brothy, chicken and beans to fill me up, and of course veggies. This recipe make about 9 cups and can easily be doubled or tripled to make more to stock up.
Brown your meat in a large pot, with a little salt and pepper, when browned, remove from pot and set aside.
Place your stalk/broth in the pot and add the beans bring to a boil, then reduce heat to keep the soup at a simmer Simmer until beans are just about cooked trough, about and hour, it really depends on how long you soak them, the temperature they are cooked at, altitude, and etc. Just keep checking them every half hour to start with and then every 15 minutes when they start to soften some.
When the beans have about 30 minutes left (they will be slightly soft but still a little hard), add your carrots and seasoning and simmer until carrots are softened but not mushy (unless you like mushy carrots). I find that about 30 minute of light simmering is just perfect for us. You may need to adjust the time depending on how you like your carrots.
During this time you will want to make a rue to thicken your soup. In a small pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted add your flour and whisk until the flour has absorbed the butter, let cook on low for about 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally, to get rid of the flour taste.
After the carrots and beans are cooked, add the chicken. Now it’s time to add the rue and kale. The order of this doesn’t really matter. I like to add the rue first because then you don’t have the kale getting stuck in the whisk. Take the rue and add about half to your soup and whisk. Make sure you get it all mixed in well without clumps. Don’t add all the rue at once, you can always add more rue but you can’t take it out. Make sure the soup comes to boil and starts to thicken before adding more. Add enough to make your soup just a little thinner than you would like. It will thicken just a little more when you take it off the heat. After it is as thick as you would like add your kale and stir it in and let it cook for just a couple minutes more to cook the kale and you are done.
If you don’t or can’t use wheat you can thicken your soup with arrowroot or tapioca starch. To get the creamy color in the soup just add a little bit of milk at the end so that it won’t curdle. Make a slurry of about 1/2 cup starch and 1/2 cup water. Add some slowly to the soup and mix, let this thicken and then see if you need to add more. If you do need more, add a little at a time waiting for it to do it’s job until you get to the thickness you want.
Serve with some warm Foccaica Bread for dipping.
Ok, this is what I put together when everything needs to come out of the fridge. It is great way to use up your holiday leftovers.
In a large soup pot heat up olive oil.
Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic saute until tender (3 minutes).
Add salt and pepper taste.
Add stock and vegetables, heat until a low boil.
Add pasta, cook until pasta is tender.
A hearty soup, perfect for post-Thanksgiving. Loved by young and old alike. Serve with sourdough bread and butter.
In a medium stockpot, sauté onion in butter until soft.
Add turkey stock and potatoes. Cook until potatoes just tender.
Add lentils, pinto beans and black beans (with their cooking liquids), turkey, sea salt, and pepper.
Simmer until lentils are tender.
Like a mole soup with spicy chocolate sauce paired with savory chicken and sweet potatoes. It is even better the next day after the spices have penetrated the chicken and sweet potatoes even more. You won’t be disappointed!
In a heavy bottomed soup pot, melt better on low heat. Add chopped onions and saute until translucent. Add garlic and saute another minute. Add salt and rest of the spices and saute until fragrant.
Slowly pour in chicken broth. Add cubed sweet potatoes. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook until sweet potatoes are tender.
Add tomatoes and chicken. Bring up to a simmer.
Dissolve arrowroot powder in cold water. Slowly pour in while stirring. Simmer until chicken in warmed through and stew has thickened.
Serve topped with cilantro, sour cream and a squeeze of lime.
A simple chicken soup that is perfect for the winter months when we need to get extra chicken broth into our bodies to nourish us.
Place rice in a small bowl and cover with a cup of water and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or whey. Cover and leave on the counter overnight or up to 24 hours.
In a heavy bottomed soup pot, melt butter and add chopped onions, carrots and celery. Saute until onions are translucent. Add in garlic and saute another minute.
Pour in the chicken stock and add rice. Bring to a boil and skim off any scum that rises to the top.
Add thyme. Simmer for about 40 minutes. Add the cooked chicken pieces and heat through.
Remove thyme sprigs before serving and season to taste.
This traditional Thai soup is a favorite of ours, but it’s hard to trust the ingredients in restaurant versions. Sadly, many of the traditional ethnic restaurants have stopped using nutrient-dense foods and have jumped on the processed food bandwagon.
This version uses homemade chicken stock made from pastured chicken, nutrient-dense coconut milk and a variety of natural ingredients that have incredible flavors- lemongrass, galangal (a Thai ginger), kaffir lime leaves and chilies. This real-food recipe is naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free! Tom Kha Kai is a gorgeous blend of spicy, sweet, sour, salty and earthy flavors. If you’ve never tried it before, I highly suggest that you do- it’s incredibly delicious and soul-satisfying!
Bruise lemongrass, galangal and garlic clove by striking with the flat side of a large knife, a meat tenderizer or mallet. You want the juices to release into the stock.
In a medium stockpot, bring chicken stock, lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves and garlic clove to a boil. Reduce to simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add in coconut milk, chilies, fish sauce (start with 2 TBL and work up- saltiness varies by brands), coconut sugar or sucanat, and red curry paste (can adjust to taste). Simmer 10 minutes more.
Pour soup through a strainer and into a large bowl. You want to remove the large pieces of herbs, etc. Return strained soup back to stockpot. Add in chicken and mushrooms and cook about 8-10 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in lime juice and cilantro leaves. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Fish sauce is salty, lime juice is sour, chilies are heat and sugar is sweetness. It should be nicely balanced.
NOTES:
I’ve used leftover roasted chicken, cubed or shredded and it works great. No need to cook for as long at the end – maybe just 5 minutes.
I usually use red chilies that have been frozen in individual 1 tsp. serving size cubes. They stay in the freezer and it’s easy to pop one or two in. You can also use red pepper flakes if you have no other options.
While many of these ingredients seem exotic, most can be easily picked up at a well-stocked supermarket, like Whole Foods. Make sure to read ingredients carefully on items like fish sauce and curry paste. You are looking for pure ingredients with no chemical additives, veggie oils, GMOs or any other nasties.
Galangal is one of the more challenging ingredients to find. While ginger is a poor substitute for the earthiness of galangal, I’ve made it with ginger before and it was still a very tasty soup. (It’s just not Tom Kha) Just roughly peel a large piece of ginger root (you just want to expose the flesh- it doesn’t have to be perfect) and then smash it a few times as described in step one. Add it when you would add the galangal.
Traditionally, this soup is not strained and is served with all the large chunks of lemongrass, etc in it. I prefer not to eat around these items and feel it’s messy to eat, especially when serving to kiddos. So, I strain it, then add in my chicken and mushrooms. It’s a more pleasurable eating experience and all the flavors are still there.
If you prefer to use something other than chicken, go for it. Tom Kha Goong is the same soup but with prawns (shrimp) in place of the chicken. Tom Kha Hed is with additional mushrooms instead of the chicken. Feel free to use mixed seafood- calamari, fish, shrimp- yum! Just add your seafood closer to the end and don’t overcook.
Just like American chicken soup, Caldo de Pollo is a traditional family recipe (and thus has many variations), is a treasured comfort food and is definitely a nutrient-dense meal with healing properties. Unlike American chicken soup, however, this soup is a little spicy and packed with delicious vegetables. This is not tortilla soup, but a true chicken soup. The smell in the house while this is cooking is simply intoxicating!
A hearty meal served on its own, buttered properly prepared (like sprouted) corn tortillas would be an acceptable side dish, along with guacamole. Because this is a family recipe, there are many variations- some people include corn in their soup, and sometimes other veggies are used in addition to or in place of the ones I typically use. We almost never add the potatoes or rice, but I’ve listed them in case you’d like to include them. I’ve made it this way for years now and we love it, but feel free to experiment!
In a ramekin or small dish, make your spice blend. Start with about ½ – 1 TBL salt and add garlic powder (not garlic salt) and black, red and white peppers to your liking. Add cumin, chili powder and paprika. (adjust to your liking)
Season cubed chicken breast with a pinch or two of your seasoning blend- as desired.
In a bit of butter, pastured lard or coconut oil, brown and cook chicken over medium heat in a large Dutch oven or stockpot until chicken is tender. Add onions and sauté lightly. Add a touch more fat if needed.
Add cabbage, potatoes (if using), zucchini, carrots, garlic and tomatoes and the remaining seasoning blend from the ramekin. Stir to coat all evenly and cover to sweat the veggies for 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking/burning and add a touch of chicken broth if liquid from veggies is not sufficient. You don’t want to add too much or the veggies will boil and not sweat their flavors.
After 10-15 minutes, the veggies will have reduced by about half the volume. Add the remaining chicken broth, stir, add rice (if using), stir and cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes.
Add cilantro during the last couple minutes of cooking. Garnish with a lime wedge and serve with avocado slices if desired.
* On Gaps? Potatoes and rice are easily left out.
This recipe tastes just like the one my great grandmother used to make, except it uses soaked noodles! Every bite reminds me of learning how to make this soup with her when I was a child.
In a heavy-bottomed, large soup pot, melt butter on low heat and saute onions, carrots and celery until tender. Add in thyme and saute for another minute.
Slowly pour in chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add in chicken pieces and return to a boil.
Add salt to taste.
Once boiling again, slowly drop in noodles by the handful, carefully stirring to prevent them from sticking together.
Reduce heat slightly and cook for 10-15 minutes.
This is a large batch of soup and freezes well, despite the noodles being homemade. Mind you, the noodles will be much softer after freezing, but we never seemed to mind as kids. Grandma always served this soup over mashed potatoes like a gravy.
My kids love this soup and beg me to make it; definitely kid-friendly. It’s also great for putting in a thermos for a packed lunch.