Sweet Potato, Coconut & Lime Chicken Soup
INGREDIENTS
1 whole chicken - ideally pasture raised
Optional: 2 additional chicken breasts with skin (to make a chunkier style soup with more protein)
1 large yellow onions, or two of small, with skin on
2-3” piece of ginger, sliced
1 head of garlic, sliced in half
1-2 heads cilantro - divided
6-8 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into large cubes
1-2 bunches of carrots
1-2 can of Coconut Milk or coconut cream (I like Native Forest)
Baby spinach
Limes
Spices:
2 teaspoons of Cinnamon
Pink Salt
Generous amounts of lack Pepper
Optional Spices
Mace or Nutmeg
Bay Leaf
Ground Cumin
Cayenne or red chili pepper - a hint!
Black Lime (love this spice from Burlap and Barrel!)
INSTRUCTIONS & GUIDANCE
Place the whole chicken in a pot of water, breast side down so as not to dry out the white meat, along with with one whole onion, the sliced ginger, garlic, bay leaf and half of one head of cilantro (stems and all).
Add just enough water to cover the backside of the chicken and the ingredients. This is key - adding too much water will make a weak broth lacking in flavor!
Bring the brith to a boil and then reduce the heat and let simmer for 1.5- 2 hours until the chicken is falling off the bone.
Add the peeled sweet potatoes to a pot of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer, and cook the sweet potatoes until they are tender and can easily be pierced with a fork ~ about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, gather your remaining ingredients. Peel and chop the carrots. Chop the remaining cilantro. Chop the baby spinach.
Remove the chicken from the pot after 1-2 hours and chop the chicken into bite sized pieces. Strain the broth and return to pot, but keep 2-4 cups of the broth on the side. You may want to add some back in later or you may wish to keep the soup thicker.
Add the carrots to the chicken broth and let simmer.
Puree the sweet potatoes in a vitamin or strong blender. Add a little of the broth when blending to make a thick puree.
Add the pureed sweet potatoes, coconut milk, salt, spices of your choice, and chopped chicken to the broth with the carrots. Stir it up!
Add the chopped spinach and cook for a couple minutes. Turn the heat off and add the remaining chopped cilantro. Add the juice of 2 limes, lime zest or the black lime powder at the very end.
Stir and taste taste taste! What does it need? Maybe a little salt, a dash of cinnamon, a hint of cayenne. Do you want it thick and chunky or thinner and lighter? If the latter, add back in some of the reserved chicken broth.
Garnish with a squeeze of lime, some fresh cilantro or some freshly toasted pumpkin seeds!
NOTES
How many sweet potatoes? It depends of the size of the potatoes. You can’t go wrong with the number of sweet potatoes. If you use fewer sweet potatoes, it will be a thinner broth. If you use more, it will be a thicker pureed broth.
Spices: I am not being specific on ratios for spices here because it all depends on your flavor palate. Cinnamon is the primary spice, along with salt and pepper but feel free to add a healthy dash of cumin, mace and a pinch of cayenne is you like a little kick. Most importantly, trust yourself.