My life at the moment is thinly squeezed between dealing with my elderly parents (Alzheimers, dementia and a newly replaced knee ) and my adopted children and all the baggage that brings. The past few weeks have been severely testing. I’ve hurtled across London, organised carers, forgotten parents’ evening (sorry Mr D), missed another, ditched meetings at work and school and sat in A&E till three in the morning. The plates have failed to spin, the balls have dropped, and everything is crashing around my feet. It is times like this when I need to make my mother’s recipe for bone broth chicken soup to replenish the soul.
A soul soaring, soul replenishing bone broth chicken soup
When I was little, this was the soup my mother would make to heal me, to put me back together. We all have those recipes, the ones that comfort us in our times of need. It was a bowl of this chicken bone broth I’d slurp when feverishly huddled in blankets, watching TV. And every spoonful soothed my battered soul.
A self-care soup for the soul
This soup is self-care in a bowl.
But seriously it is during times of stress that we need to make sure we are administering large doses of self-care. Self-care is important, it is essential, it is not an indulgence.
The healing qualities of bone broth
I don’t have to be convinced that this homemade bone broth chicken soup has healing qualities. A spoonful of this, instantly makes me feel better.
But bone broth I have read has numerous health benefits including boosting immunity, fighting the common cold, beating inflammation, strengthening bones, and even promoting weight loss.
Bone broth chicken soup. Is a soup or a stew?
Some might call this a stew, but I have always known it as a bone broth soup.
The trick with this soup is to use whole pieces of chicken, thighs and drumsticks, and allow the bones to create base the nutritious, healing both broth. And I use a slow cooker for this recipe.
Soup or stew, whatever you think it is, it doesn’t matter, next time you are feeling low, and are in need some replenishment for your soul, make bone broth chicken soup. It works!
Homemade bone broth chicken soup to replenish the soul
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 hours
- Total Time: 6 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 - 8 1x
- Category: soup
- Method: slow cooker
- Cuisine: Sri Lankan
Ingredients
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 dried red chillis
- 3 tbs olive oil
- 1kg chicken (thighs and drumsticks, skin on)
- 400g baby potatoes, large ones quartered, small ones halved
- 200g chantenay carrots
- 1 leek, sliced
- 2 sticks of celery, sliced
- 3 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 1-inch piece of ginger, sliced
- An onion, sliced
- 1 litre of chicken stock (one cube dissolved in hot water)
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Dry roast the whole spices in a small frying pan on a low heat. Keep an eye on the spices so they don’t burn. Once the fragrance is release, pour the spices into a pestle and mortar, and crush to a fine powder before setting aside
- Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, and start to brown the chicken pieces. As they brown, place them into the slow cooker
- Add the baby potatoes followed by the carrots, leek and celery
- Drop in the garlic, ginger, onion and freshly ground spices
- Now pour in the freshly made chicken stock
- Add a generous pinch of salt, and a few twists of black pepper
- Close the slow cooker, set to low and cook for at least six hours
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