Curried Coconut Chicken Vegetable Soup

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Healthy.  Delicious.  Satisfying.  Orange.  

 

Souper Sunday has arrived early this month...you're welcome!  Here's a goodun' for ya.  Chock full of veggies galore (you've got carrots, cauliflower, onion, and celery in there), flavourful spices (how does a combination of curry powder, ground coriander, cumin, and chili powder sound?), shredded chicken (delicious bite sized chunks...no two pieces the same!) and rich coconut milk (coconut anything and I'm sold...you?), this soup is a keeper.  The Hubby and I have pounded this soup for lunches at work this week.  You can choose to puree some or all of the soup to create a chunky or smooth texture based on your preference.  Don't worry, the chicken gets added in after the pureeing step.  

I hope you enjoy!

One Year Ago:  Corn and Wild Rice Soup with Smoked Sausage
Two Years Ago: Classic Creamy Hummus

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Curry-Coconut Chicken Vegetable Soup

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 3 cups sodium-free chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups small cauliflower florets
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• 2 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 can (19 ounces / 541 mL) sodium-free diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 can (19 ounces / 541 mL) sodium-free lentils, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup light coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Directions
In a large pot, add chicken breasts, chicken broth, and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil over high heat, then immediately reduce to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.  If your chicken is higher in the pot than the level of chicken broth, then flip it once during the cooking time to ensure it cooks evenly.  Once cooked, remove chicken from broth and set aside (for now).  Remove bay leaf.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat.  Add onion, celery, and garlic, and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add cauliflower, carrots, ginger, curry powder, cumin, coriander, and chili powder, and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Add the tomatoes with their juice, immediately remove pan from heat, then stir until everything is combined and all of the spices are scraped up from the pan.  Dump entire contents of sauté pan into the pot with the chicken broth.  Add brown sugar, salt, and pepper.  Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce and simmer for 15 minutes.  Add lentils and simmer for 5 more minutes.  Remove from heat.

Using an immersion blender, puree soup in the pot, leaving lots of chunks (alternatively, transfer half of the soup to a blender, puree, then return to the pot with remaining soup).  Add coconut milk and cilantro.  Using a fork, shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces, then add to pot.  Serve hot.

Recipe Source:  Inspired by Eat, Shrink, and Be Merry's 'The Contilental Divide'