January 09, 2017
Coconut Curry Soup with Chicken, Chickpeas and Hearty Greens
Over the holidays I joined the masses in throwing caution to wind and ate my way through 31 days of festive bliss. We’re talking cinnamon rolls, maples bars, pies a’plenty, gravy, mashed potatoes, cheese by the pound, summer sausage and of course my fair share of holiday spirits. Some see this as gluttony, I just see it as real motivation to start off the new year eating clean. And when I say clean, I don’t mean some crazy cayenne-maple syrup-lemon juice-cleanse. I mean real food done right.
Healthy doesn’t have to be boring and delicious comfort food doesn’t have to bad for you.
Soups are a staple in our house and based off of our analytics I’d say they probably are in yours, too. (Fun fact: our soup recipes perform higher than any other kind of dish we share here on TMP). I’m constantly trying to reinvent classics, perfect my favorites and sometimes just go a bit wild and create something new altogether. A few months ago, I was cleaning out my pantry (which is a great method to crafting an interesting pot of soup) and out of my kitchen came this rich and healthy soup that the whole family devoured. When I mentioned it on Instagram later that week, people were begging for the recipe.
So, as promised, here is it. Take a gorgeous medley of vegetables, slowly simmer in a rich, curried coconut broth, add chicken and chickpeas and voila! It's so filling and satisfying you might be fooled into thinking you aren’t eating as healthy as you actually are. And that's how it should be. That's real food done right. Healthy doesn’t have to be boring and delicious comfort food doesn’t have to bad for you. I've learned if I'm going to be successful in eating healthy, I can't feel like I'm suffering, and I can promise you no one will be suffering when you offer them a steaming bowl of this hearty concoction.
Coconut Curry Soup with Chicken, Chickpeas and Hearty Greens
Serves 4
Ingredients
| 1 tbsp | olive oil |
| 1 large | onion, diced |
| 2 | red bell peppers, diced |
| 4 | cloves of garlic, minced |
| 1 | 13.5 oz can diced tomatoes |
| 1 | 13.5 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed |
| 4 cups | chicken stock |
| 2 | 13.5 oz cans full fat coconut milk |
| 2 tbsp | red curry paste |
| 2 tsp | fish sauce |
| juice of one lime | |
| 1.5 lb | chicken breasts, sliced thin |
| 2 cups | roughly chopped kale, spinach or chard |
| salt to taste |
Method
- Sauté onions and peppers in olive oil over medium heat. Sauté until onions are just tender. Add garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Add tomatoes, curry paste, chicken stock and chickpeas and bring to rapid simmer. Stir until paste is dissolved. Add coconut milk, fish sauce and lime juice, bring back to a simmer and allow to cook for 10 minutes.
- Add chicken and cook for 10 minutes at a simmer until chicken is cooked through. Season with salt and add kale/spinach. Cook for 3 more minutes and serve as is or over cauliflower rice.
- You may need to adjust the seasonings just a bit. Use less curry paste if you don't like it with a little “kick”.