Spring Chicken Soup
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
Soup
- 2 ½ lbs bone in, skin on chicken thighs
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 bunch leeks (about 3 medium) cleaned and sliced
- 3 celery stalks medium diced
- 1 large fennel bulb cored and medium diced
- 5 garlic cloves grated
- 1 inch piece of ginger grated
- 6 cups low sodium chicken stock homemade or store bought
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 medium kohlrabi peeled and medium diced
- 2 cups frozen peas
- ½ lb. small pasta shape of choice cooked to al dente
- Watercress for serving (optional)
- Grated pecorino romano and black pepper for serving
Herb Topping
- ½ cup each fresh parsley and dill
- ¼ cup fresh tarragon
- 2 lemons zested and juiced
- ⅓ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Season chicken thighs all over with kosher salt and black pepper. Add oil to a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, add chicken thighs skin side down, and sear until deeply golden, about 8-12 minutes. Flip and cook second side about 3 minutes more.
- Remove chicken to a plate and set aside. Carefully, pour off some fat if it seems like too much (around 1-2 Tbsp will be good!)
- Add leeks, celery, fennel, garlic, and ginger to the pot. Cook for about 3 minutes, just until veggies start to sweat. (they are going to cook mostly in the broth!)
- Pour in chicken stock and add in bay leaves. Return chicken to the pot, along with the kohlrabi. Bring mixture to a simmer.
- Simmer on low for 30-35 minutes until chicken is cooked (at least 185F), and vegetables are tender.
- Remove chicken and bay leaves from the soup. Let chicken cool for a few minutes so you can handle it.
- While chicken cools a bit, make the herb topping. Blend dill, parsley, tarragon, lemon zest, lemon juice, and olive oil until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
- Remove skin from chicken and discard. Shred chicken and return to soup. (you can leave the soup on low while you do this!)
- Stir in peas. Season to taste with more salt and pepper.
- Add cooked pasta to each individual bowl and pour hot soup over.
- Serve topped with a drizzle of herb mix, watercress, pecorino, and black pepper.
Video
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Amazing soup – I had high expectations and they were met! My grocery store didn’t have kohlrabi so I substituted with broccoli stems. I also didn’t make the herb drizzle but it was still good without it.