Almost Chicken Soup

Almost Chicken Soup


A pot full of bubbling chicken broth, vegetables and diced breast or thigh meat that's simmering away on the stove is every mother's home remedy. Food Over 50's version calls for homemade, fat free chicken stock using a roasted carcass for extra color and flavor, complete control over added salt, and so many vegetables and healthy fiber that it's easy to forget about the meat! That's why we call it Almost Chicken Soup and it's the best "remedy" you'll ever taste!

​*Special Note

In reference to our “Almost Chicken Soup” recipe, an email came in criticizing David’s on-camera comments as follows…

“On your Episode 5: Dietary Fiber, your host tells the audience that mirepoix (onion, celery & carrots) is now being called holy trinity by younger folk. Mirepoix is onion, celery & carrots from Mirepoix, France. Holy trinity is onion, celery and green pepper from New Orleans. If an expert on TV is mistaken it’s much more distressing than if my neighbor is mistaken. The TV expert’s audience takes his word as fact and needs to research a topic if he doesn’t know the facts.”

This respondent is quite correct about the ingredient and geographic differences between a mirepoix and the holy trinity, but may have been quick to judge. David’s final comment on the subject was to emphasize that he refers to onions, celery and carrot as “onion, celery and carrot!” This way there is no confusion over people’s understanding of varying culinary terms.

Nearly every cuisine has its trio of favored aromatic ingredients - Spanish sofrito, Italian soffritto, Portugeuese refogado, German suppengrun and France again with duxelles. These include varieties of ingredients including onion, garlic, celery, leeks, tomatoes, chilies, shallot, mushroom, etc. Cooks of all calibers mix, match and sometimes confuse these ingredients with culinary terminologies. But seldom do we confuse a carrot for a parsnip, or an apple for a pear if we just call a food by its name. This was David’s point.

Food Over 50, round logo
Print Recipe
Almost Chicken Soup
Almost chicken soup as prepared by David Jackson on Food Over 50
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Global
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 Hour
Servings
10 people
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Global
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 Hour
Servings
10 people
Ingredients
Almost chicken soup as prepared by David Jackson on Food Over 50
Instructions
  1. Prep and dice all vegetables into spoon-size pieces. Mince garlic and red chili.
  2. In a large soup kettle, saute onions, celery, carrots and garlic in olive oil until slightly caramelized.
  3. Add chicken stock, chicken meat, beans and all herbs and spices, reserving only the lemon to be added last for a bright, fresh blast of flavor.
  4. Cook for 30 to 45 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally.
Recipe Notes

We refer to this dish as "Almost Chicken Soup" because it's far more about the multitude of high fiber vegetables and pulses than it is about the chicken. It refrigerates or freezes well, so don't be put off by the recipe volume.

Share this Recipe