I love spicy, delicious soups. This one doesn't take that long to make, and the results are great! Spice is a bit relative, though-I don't find this spicy, but you may need to taste along as you make it and adjust as you see fit. I changed up the original recipe, and you'll see my notes in brackets below. The finished soup freezes well and makes a tasty lunch, especially if you take some naan bread to go with it.Recipe adapted from Crazy Plates
1 Tbsp butter
1 cup each chopped celery, onions, and carrots
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1 inch cubes (I used what I had in the fridge, which was 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs and a bunch of chicken tenders. Thigh meat tends to be more moist, so I'd recommend that here. The breasts can go a bit dry. Eyeball it. 4-5 thighs, maybe?)
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
6 cups low fat chicken broth
one 19 oz can of plum tomatoes, drained and cut up
1/2 cup uncooked long grain brown rice
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups peeled, cored, and diced Granny Smith apples
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (I used cilantro)
3/4 cup low fat sour cream or yogurt
1 Tbsp lemon juice (I zested a lemon and then cut it in 1/2, squeezing the juice from one 1/2 into the soup)
In a large soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat and saute the celery, onion, carrots, and garlic until soft. Add the chicken and continue to saute until the chicken is no longer pink.
Stir in the chili, cumin, curry, cloves and bay leaves, allowing them to cook for about a minute.
Pour in the chicken broth, tomatoes, and brown rice. Turn the heat up and bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
**Brown rice typically needs about 45 minutes to cook. In the soup, it was a teensy bit chewy still after 15 minutes but by the time the soup sat on the stove, etc it was cooked through. If you are eating the soup immediately you might want to try white or a par-boiled brown rice. If you are going to freeze this, use regular brown rice. It holds up really well.***
Stir in the chopped apple and cilantro, letting simmer for another 5-10 minutes until the apples are soft. Zest a lemon right into the soup, then cut the lemon in 1/2 and squeeze the juice from 1 half right into the pot. Stir.
When you serve the soup, swirl in a bit of low fat sour cream and top with a bit of chopped cilantro.
Serves 6
