chicken soup

I found a package of frozen chicken in the freezer today … I had to think back to how long it’d been there since I rarely work with chicken. It was less than six months so I felt safe to use it, but also felt it need to be used up soon.

With a temperature high of 8 degrees – it’s all about soup! I grabbed a little bit of each vegetable I had in the fridge and this is what I ended up with. A delightful soup that also boost immunity thanks to all the ginger and garlic.

The sweet potato dumplings are just little spoons of sweetness. You can absolutely skip this step and still have a wonderful soup- your call. Just stay warm.
Happy eating,
~Monique

Soup with Sweet Potato Dumplings {GF, DF}

2 lbs chicken pieces
1 tbls ghee + 1 tbls coconut oil (divided)* use all coconut oil if vegan
3-4 thyme sprigs
1/2 tsp ground sage
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 bay leaf
1 cup diced yellow onions
4 cups diced vegetables (I used broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, cabbage, zucchini & green beans)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 small thumb-size of fresh ginger, minced
Big handful or two of torn kale
~4 cups broth
salt and pepper
1/2 of a roasted sweet potato (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup 1×1 gluten free flour
Optional toppings: green onions, cilantro and unflavored yogurt

Melt 1/2 tbls of ghee and coconut oil in a soup pan over medium-high heat. Liberally salt and pepper the chicken pieces, place in the hot oil. Brown on one side, flip over and brown on the second side.

While the chicken is browning, chop all the vegetables. Remove the chicken from the pan (place on a plate or in a bowl.) Lower the heat to medium, add remaining oil then add the onions. Sautee the onion for about 4 minutes just to soften. Add all other veggies, except garlic and ginger, and toss well. Sauté for about another 4 minutes just to begin to soften. Add in the garlic and ginger, sauté for 1 minute.

Deglaze the pan with about a bit of the broth. Add remaining broth and nestle the chicken in. Cover, lower heat to a minimum and simmer 20 minutes.

Mix the sweet potato dumplings: mash the roasted sweet potato. Add the flour and a few good pinches of black pepper. Begin smooshing the mixture together with the fork, eventually use you hand to bring together a dough. This will be slightly sticky, but if it’s sticking to the plate or your hands, add a few more pinches of flour. Or if it is really dry, add a drizzle of olive oil.

Uncover the soup, pull out the chicken. Chop or shred the chicken and place back in the pan. Add in the kale, stir well. Pull off little sections (about 1×1 or so) of the dumpling dough and lightly place in the soup. Cover and simmer 20-30 minutes until the dumplings puff up slightly and are cooked through.

Serve with green onion and a dollop of Greek yogurt as desired.