I've always made some kind of version of this soup in the past, but this one is by far the easiest. This recipe was a bit of an accident. I began to make a basic chicken soup, but I left the chicken cooking (covered) for 4 hours! At first, I was completely ashamed that I cooked a perfectly good (organic) chicken to death. To my surprise, the chicken tasted great and was fall-off-the-bone tender. So I enjoyed my chicken soup for lunch that day. The soup then went in the fridge, awaiting my return. Well, my husband was on a chicken soup strike (he cannot eat the same recipe twice in one season) so I ingenuously came up with the idea to add coconut milk and curry to suit his taste buds' needs.
This recipe is awesome because:
A.) Coconut & curry were made for each other
B.) Beans add additional fiber, protein, and creaminess to this dish and are completely disguised
C.) Even if you stop this recipe after step 2, you'll still have a delicious meal 🙂
Serves 8
Ingredients:
- 1 whole chicken, giblets removed
- 1 medium onion, sliced in half and peeled
- 2 carrots, cut into large chunks
- 2 stalks celery, cut into large chunks
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 can pinto beans, drained & rinsed (substitute chick peas, navy beans, cannellini beans)
- 2 Tbsp curry powder
- 1/2 Tbsp salt
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
- hot pepper for serving (optional)
- Add the first 5 ingredients to a large pot  and add enough filtered water to cover the chicken by about 1 inch. Cover the pot, bring to a boil, then simmer on low for 4 hours (as little as 1 hour will work as well). Allow the soup to cool to room temperature.
- Carefully remove the chicken from the liquid and place on a cutting board or other work surface. Remove the skin and bones from the meat and discard them. Strain the cooked vegetables & discard those as well. Pull apart the meat to coarsely shred it.
- In a blender, combine coconut milk and beans. Blend until smooth, then add to the soup along with the curry powder, salt. Stir to combine.
- Heat the soup, add cilantro and pepper if using, then serve.
Notes: This soup would go nicely with small pieces of cauliflower, potato, rice, or cut string beans gently cooked for added bulk. I decided to add torn pieces of corn tortilla to mine, and it was delicious!
Marina Bedrossian is a Northport, NY dietitian nutritionist who helps people with holistic nutrition solutions and food sensitivities. Visit this page to schedule an appointment and don’t forget to join the private Facebook group “Ingredients For Healthy Families” more information here.