This is one of those clean-out-the-fridge soups. It was just what the doctor (me) ordered when I came down with this horrible cold, and nobody is around to take care of me so I have to take care of myself. It is loosely based on a Colombian class of soups called sancocho de gallina (found by googling "chicken root vegetable soup" and seeing what turned up.) The kids even liked it, despite the obvious lack of noodles.
Chicken and Root Vegetable Stew
- 6 cups rich chicken stock (had some going in the crock pot just for this soup!)
- 1/4 c olive oil
- 2 large onions
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, sliced
- 1 big turnip*
- 4 carrots*
- 5 small red potatoes*
- 1 big green bell pepper*
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
*The exact amounts and types of vegetables probably doesn't matter much, although I would not want to do without potato or the particular mild bitterness of green bell pepper. Parsnips, rutabagas, sweet potatoes would probably all be very nice. Some versions of sancocho contain chunks of corn on the cob, and I would totally have added that if I had any.
Trim and roughly chop all the vegetables. Heat the olive oil in a soup pot and add the onions and the sliced chicken; cook until the chicken is no longer translucent and the onions are just starting to brown. Add the stock and the rest of the ingredients and simmer until the vegetables are all quite tender. Remove the bay leaves, add salt and pepper to taste, and eat up.
We had this with hot buttered toast. Superb.
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