Immune-boosting citrus chicken soup

Servings: 6
Cooking time: 1 hour

As the days become cooler and cases of the ‘sniffles’ begin to circulate, many of us are seeking some warm, nutrient-dense comfort food. We’re confident that this citrus chicken soup recipe will be more than just comforting, but also therapeutic and immune-boosting for anybody falling victim to flu season. Packed to the brim with fresh nutritious ingredients to support a weakened system, we’ve also incorporated some Flannery’s favourites such as SuperFeast’s Mason’s Mushrooms and Cherry Tree Kitchen bone broth to give your stressed immune system a powerful KICK!

As Hippocrates famously said, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”

What nutrients are we talking about?

MUSHROOMS
They are a powerhouse for supporting the immune system and have been acknowledged by eastern medics for thousands of years for their superpowers. The therapeutic component in these wonderful fungi act as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and cell-regenerating agents.

TURMERIC AND GINGER
These ingredients provide antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action to relieve the unfavourable symptoms of flu.

GARLIC, CHILLI AND ONION
Supporting your body’s natural defence system. Allicin, a compound in garlic, is known to boost the white blood cell’s response to illness. Onions also have multiple immunity-supporting compounds, whilst green chillies are rich in vitamin C to boost resistance to infection.

Ingredients:

• Splash olive oil
• 4-5 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 x large or 2 x small onions
• 4 tsp chopped ginger
• 3 heaped tsp. chopped fresh turmeric (or 2 tsp. powdered turmeric)
• 1 x green chilli
• 5 cups water
• 2 cups Cherry Tree Kitchen Organic Chicken Broth
• 3 tsp. Swiss Vegetable Bouillon powder
• 4-5 large organic chicken drumsticks, skin off
• 2 large carrots, cubed
• 2 cobs of corn, kernels shaved off
• 1 tbsp. SuperFeast Mason’s mushrooms powder
• 1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms
• 1/2 packet Perfect Earth brown rice pasta
• Large handful organic spinach leaves
• Large handful organic baby kale
• 2 lemons
• Handful of parsley, chopped

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large pot. Brown the onion, garlic, chilli, ginger and turmeric until golden and fragrant.
2. Add your water, broth and bouillon, and bring liquid to a heavy simmer.
3. Add the chicken drumsticks, carrot and corn, and bring back to a simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Remove chicken drumsticks, allowing broth to continue simmering. Remove the chicken meat from the bones. Discard bones or keep them to create your own bone broth later.
5. Add the pasta, dried mushrooms, Mason’s Mushrooms powder and chicken meat to your pot. Continue to simmer until pasta is cooked.
6. Turn off the heat, and add your spinach and kale. Stir through until all leaved are wilted.
7. Serve your soup, garnishing with parsley and a generous amount of lemon juice. It is essential that the lemon juice is added freshly-squeezed over the dish rather than cooked into the broth. This avoids creating a bitter flavour, and will add a fresh and flavourful element to your dish.

Recipe by @claydo_