Two weeks ago when we arrived in New Jersey, after several hours in the car, this was simmering on the stove at my sister’s house. It was all too welcome as I had packed enough snack-type things to last us the trip without having to stop for a real meal… the promise of hot soup upon arrival! Carrots and hummus and crackers and some cinnamon cookies, Cars on DVD, a few books. Those were our road trip saviors. We stopped exactly one time, to use the bathrooms, and otherwise cruised straight there. We’re sort of road-trip champions at this point. I’ve gone the whole way from Boston to NJ without one stop before (or the use of a bedpan!). That’s probably not a good thing, as a body does need water, and when I stumbled out of the car, dehydrated and bedraggled, I thought better than to repeat that. Jokes, jokes, the dehydrated-stumble part never happened.
Anyway, we sat around my sister’s table, all of us eating our bowl of hot soup. I exclaimed, “Kale?!” To my surprise, the greens in the soup are kale. I had sort of written kale off, having had it a few times, and really not enjoyed it. I know it’s like the “it” vegetable of 2012-2013 but I just couldn’t get on board with it. And, seeing as I quite like spinach, I decided to stop trying and keep on the spinach train. What’d spinach ever do to deserve being cast aside anyway? There is room for both, however, on your kitchen table so, if you’re in agreement with me on the anti-kale sentiments, do try it in a soup. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Also, be sure to actually remove the leafy part from the tougher stem part. Toss the stems, keep the leaves.
I’m calling this Harvest Chicken Quinoa Soup though, what you’re looking at there, is actually Harvest Chicken Farro Soup. I followed Iowa Girl Eats recipe by that name, having asked my sister where the recipe came from. (And, do check out her site. A lot of good recipes on it.) Of course, minus the quinoa–William’s not a quinoa fan, so I switched it up for farro. And honestly, a rice, a noodle… any type of favorite grain or starch would work. We had it a few days ago–it was on the docket as soon as I bought some kale–and I doubled it so we had leftovers too. Leftover soup is my favorite leftover.
Harvest Chicken Farro Soup
serves 6
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 carrot, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 rib celery, chopped (1/2 cup)
1/2 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
salt & pepper
4 cups torn kale
1 garlic clove
8 cups chicken broth, divided
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2″ parmesan cheese rind (optional)
2 large chicken breasts (about 1lb), cut in half
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped into 1/2″ cubes (2 cups)
1 large russet potato, peeled and chopped into 1/2″ cubes (1-1/2 cups)
2/3 cup quinoa (or farro!), rinsed and drained
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Heat oil in a large pot, and sauté your carrots, celery, onion till soft, ten minutes or so. Season with s&p. Add kale and garlic and continue sautéing. Add your seasonings & bay leaf (I used a poultry seasoning here, instead of the separate ones) and your cheese rind if you want (I didn’t do that part). Add your broth. Bring to a boil. Add chicken breasts to the pot (raw! Loved cooking my chicken this way.). Once that’s no longer pink, about ten minutes, take it out and put it on a plate. Add your potatoes, and grain. After that’s cooked, add back your chopped/shredded chicken. Remove bay leaf, add parmesan cheese, and add some more broth as your grain will have absorbed a lot of it at this point.
Serve with a crusty loaf of bread and some more grated cheese. And, in my opinion, double this recipe always! This will be a staple soup this winter in my house, for sure. Everyone loves it, nutritious for you, easy ingredients. Winner.
This might be the silliest question, but I am no cook. I try. And when it comes to meat, I am terrible and freaked out. My husband is a vegetarian, I am not. But still, not a lot of meat around here. I would like to make this with chicken. Did you use boneless skinless? Just put it in the pot and all is well? It cooks and is fine?
i did use boneless and yes! it just cooks with the boiling stock until it's totally done. it was a little weird to me too, but it boils for quite some time, so fully cooking everything!
Gosh, homemade soup is the absolute best! I'm also not a huge kale fan, but I would love to try this recipe, it looks fantastic!
Trying to figure out more ways to incorporate/sneak quinoa into our diet. This sounds great; thanks, Bridget!
Maybe you are sick of people suggesting their favourite kale recipes in order to sway your kale-neutral opinion, but I just can't help myself. This one makes my mouth water just thinking about it:
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/raw-tuscan-kale-salad-recipe.html
i'm willing to give it a try! thanks meghan.
I also cannot help myself with this recipe that has kale in it…a new favorite!!
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/skillet-chicken-pot-pie-with-butternut-squash
I recommend roasting the butternut squash ahead of time and have also added sliced portobello mushrooms that I have cooked down – delish!!
My husband and I made this soup on Tuesday night. My parents dropped my girl off and I invited them in to try it with us. SO GOOD! We will definitely be making more this winter. <3