Spicy Smoked Chicken Soup
Chicken soup – “Jewish penicillin” – is a classic comfort food for cool evenings or to help relieve colds, aches and pains. There are hundreds of recipes with different ingredients… each cook has their favorite concoction. One of my favorites is a spicy smoked chicken soup served with either dumplings or matzo balls.
When I smoke chicken (or anything else), I smoke a lot of it and use it for a variety of meals… dinner, salads, burritos, enchiladas, tacos and soup. It’s always a good idea to have a batch of smoked chicken in the freezer along with other smoked meats. (If you’re going to fire up your smoker, you might as well fill it up!)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and diced (about one cup)
2 ribs celery, diced (about 3/4 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons)
2 1/2 tablespoons minced shallot (about 1/2 shallot)
2 1/2 cups chopped or shredded smoked chicken
4 springs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf (California or Turkish, whatever you have)
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh rosemary
1 quart chicken stock (homemade or reduced sodium)
2 fresh Thai chiles, seeded and minced (about 1 1/2 teaspoons)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
Freshly ground black pepper
Coarse kosher salt
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, for garnish
Bring a 6 1/2-quart stock pot to medium heat. Add the olive oil. When the oil is warmed, add the carrots and celery. (It’s not a true mirepoix because it doesn’t have onion. A classic mirepoix is two parts onion, one part celery and one part carrot. The Cajun/ Creole variation (holy trinity) substitutes green pepper for the carrots.) Sweat until slightly softened but not browned. Add the garlic and shallots; cook until slightly softened, about three minutes.
Add the chicken, thyme, bay leaf and rosemary. Cook until the herbs are aromatic. Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Incorporate the chiles and crushed red pepper. Simmer the soup for five minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs and the bay leaf. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Ladle the soup into warmed serving bowls and garnish with minced parsley. (Fresh mint and lime wedges would also be good!)
Veggies in the stock pot
Shredded and diced smoked chicken added
Ready for dinner!
I'll take mine with Matzo balls, please
