Roast chicken is an almost effortless dish to prepare and always satisfies a hungry crowd. I don’t have a recipe up on my site for some reason (we’ll have to fix that down the road!) but I like to roast mine perched atop a bed of root vegetables in a little white wine and chicken stock bath. The juices from the bird drip down into the pan and infuse the root vegetables so they come out tender and flavorful. While the chicken is always thoroughly enjoyed by all, there always seems to be leftovers. Both the dark meat hidden between the bones or the underside of the bird and even some white breast meat as well. Not to mention the entire carcass that can be saved to make bone broth.
This soup is the solution to using up all of the extra vegetables from the roast as well as the leftover chicken. It’s a hearty soup and will warm your body right up on a cold day. If your family devours the meat from the roast chicken then you may need to add in a few extra chicken breasts, but since I cook for a family of 2.5 we always have leftovers. We like to serve it with this Moroccan Chicken Salad but I leave the chicken off since the soup is like a meal in itself.
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Ingredients (serves 6)
2 garlic cloves, minced |
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Toss the vegetables in the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
Meanwhile, bring the chicken stock to a simmer in a large stockpot. Add the chicken, herbs, and salt and pepper. Cover and cook while the vegetables are roasting, about 15 minutes. For raw chicken breasts, cook for about 45 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and tender enough to shred with a fork.
Add half the vegetables to the soup, and place the other half in a blender. Make sure to put all of the onions quarters into the blender. Puree the vegetables with the 1 cup of water.
Add the vegetable puree and baby spinach to the soup. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the spinach is wilted and the soup is hot. Adjust seasonings to your taste.
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 carrots, peeled and cubed
- 1 cup butternut squash, peeled and cubed
- 1 small sweet potato, peeled and cubed*
- ½ yellow onion, quartered
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cups chicken stock, store-bought or homemade
- 2-3 cups leftover shredded chicken or 1 pound uncooked chicken breasts
- ¾ teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon cracked pepper
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups baby spinach
- *For SCD, eliminate the sweet potato and increase the butternut squash to 2.5 cups
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Toss the vegetables in the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
- Meanwhile, bring the chicken stock to a simmer in a large stockpot. Add the chicken, herbs, and salt and pepper. Cover and cook while the vegetables are roasting, about 15 minutes. For raw chicken breasts, cook for about 45 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and tender enough to shred with a fork.
- Add half the vegetables to the soup, and place the other half in a blender. Make sure to put all of the onions quarters into the blender. Puree the vegetables with the 1 cup of water.
- Add the vegetable puree and baby spinach to the soup. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the spinach is wilted and the soup is hot. Adjust seasonings to your taste.
