Photo by Scott Suchman and food styling by Marie Ostrosky; for The Washington Post
This chicken vegetable soup is the very essence of healing goodness: comforting, belly-warming and full of flavor. The broth gets its golden hue from turmeric, and layers of flavor from ginger and garlic, all known for their anti-inflammatory benefits. With green beans, spinach and chickpeas, it is chock full of texture and vegetable nutrition, too. To make the soup vegetarian, use vegetable broth and omit the chicken.
Golden Chicken Vegetable Soup With Chickpeas
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium carrots (5 ounces total), diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 medium yellow onion (about 8 ounces), diced
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced or finely grated
1 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast
One (15-ounce) can no-salt-added chickpeas, drained and rinsed or 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
4 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (1 cup)
2 cups baby spinach, coarsely chopped
Directions
In a large soup pot over medium heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the carrots, celery and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the ginger, garlic, salt, pepper and turmeric and cook for 1 minute more. Add the broth and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the chicken. Simmer, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
Add the chickpeas and green beans to the pot, increase the heat to medium-high and return the broth to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until the green beans are tender, about 10 minutes.
While the green beans are softening, use two forks to tear the chicken into bite-size pieces. When the green beans are tender, return the chicken, with any accumulated juices, to the pot. Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat, ladle into bowls and serve hot.
Makes 6 servings
Serving size: Scant 2 cups
Per Serving: Calories 242; Total Fat 9g (Sat Fat 2g); Protein 20g; Carb 24g; Fiber 6g; Cholesterol 28mg; Sodium 547mg: Sugars 6g (including 0g added sugars)
