Chicken Soup with Spaghetti Squash, Cilantro & Lime

CHICKEN SOUP WITH SPAGHETTI SQUASH, CILANTRO & FRESH LIME

ingredients:

1 whole chicken (pasture-raised if possible)

1 whole white onion, with the skin

1 head of garlic, peeled

2 bunches of fresh cilantro

1.5” knob of fresh ginger, sliced

1-2 bunches of carrots, depending on size.

1 large spaghetti squash

Fresh Spinach

1 head of scallions

Ghee

2-3 Bay leaves

Black pepper

Pink salt, red salt, or high quality sea salt

Cumin (optional)

Kombu (optional)

Fresh limes

directions:

Wash all the vegetables for the soup.

Rinse the chicken and place in a pot with the whole onion with the skin, the head of peeled garlic, 1/2 head of cilantro, bay leaves, ginger slices and about 5 whole black peppercorns. Bring to a boil then cook on a medium-low simmer for about 2-3 hours or until the chicken is falling off the bone. Skim any scum that rises to the surface at the beginning of cooking. If using, add the kombu slices to the pot.

As the stock is being made, make sure the meat is breast-side down in the pot. and the water is just covering the chicken and the veggies. If you add too much water you will have a weak stock.

If you can get your hands on an aged hen, they make a delicious stock (but do not have much meat). Chicken feet are also wonderful for stock. If you make stock with either of these cuts, you will ideally want to cook for considerably longer to extract the collagen.

While the chicken is cooking and stock is being made, prepare the rest of the ingredinets.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Slice the spaghetti squash lengthwise. You will need a sharp, strong knife. Once the squash is open, scoop out the seeds with a strong spoon and then fork the flesh flesh in many places. Coat the entire inside with a generous helping of ghee and salt. Roast at 350 for about an hour to an hour and half, until the squash is extremely soft. Baste a few times to make sure the ghee is evenly distributed. If using the cumin you can add some to the squash while it is roasting.

Peel (optional) and chop carrots into pretty thin slices. (The peel has alot of nutrients, I usually keep in on for roasting and peel when serving fresh. For soup and stews, I taste the carrots to see how fresh and sweet the skin is.)

Chop spinach into small pieces. Dice scallions.

Remove chicken from the pot with tongs and a slotted spoon. Place chicken in a large bowl or serving plate to cool down. Once cool, remove the meat from the bones and skin. Chop the dark meat finely, but leave the white meat in medium sized chunks.

Strain the broth using a large mesh strainer, discard the veggies using tongs to take out the large veggies first. For chicken stock, I prefer to keep the fat with the stock.

Wash the pot, then return the stock to the pot and bring back to a boil. Add the sliced carrots and cook on medium to low until they are soft.

Remove the spaghetti squash from the oven, let cool until you can handle it, then scoop the flesh from the skins. Mix with a fork. Then add to the broth with the cooked carrots and stir. Then add the chicken. Bring back to a low simmer. Salt to taste. Add more cumin (to your client’s palate preference) if using and a generous amount of fresh ground black pepper.

Turn off the heat. Add the chopped scallions, stir just once and place the lid back on the pot.

Chop the remaining cilantro.

After the soup cools for about 5-10 minutes add teh chopped spinach and chopped cilantro. Try not to stir to much to avoid the chicken pieces from completely falling apart.

Serve each bowl with 1/2 lime and garnish with fresh cilantro or scallions.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS!

Make your own or any other postpartum appropriate chicken soup you’d like, but use a whole chicken with the skin and bones to make your own stock.

Chicken Soup Suggestions:

Heng Ou’s Chicken Soup with Red Dates & Ginger

VEGETARIAN STUDENTS (OR ANY OF YOU) WHO DO NOT WISH TO MAKE A CHICKEN SOUP CAN MAKE A DIFFERENT SOUP.

Other Soup Suggestions;

Heng Ou’s Creamy Kabocha and Red Lentil Soup

A pureed green soup (Heng Ou’s can be found here without photos)

A Butternut Squash, Carrot Ginger or Potato Leek soup

A hearty miso soup with root vegetables

A hearty egg drop soup

A green papaya and fish soup