The ideal soup. In the words of my father, probably my biggest food critic besides myself. The man that thinks everything I make needs more gluten. The guy that when I try to get him on board with our sugar cleanse, goes out and buys a box of halloween candy and claims he thought sugar cleanse meant MORE sugar.
If he loved this soup, i’m pretty sure everyone will. Best part, it uses a whole chicken which in my opinions is the easiest most economical way to eat chicken. A whole free range chicken feeds a crowd and you get the bones to make stock later. By far the easiest way to cook a whole chicken is to make a big soup.
There’s no risk of it not being cooked or worse, being dry and overcooked. The only downside is you don’t get that crispy skin, but I personally looooove the fat that the skin imparts in the soup. It’s so rich, and although the coconut milk isn’t a traditional addition, it adds a creamy comfort to my version of sopa de pollo like none other.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp cooking fat of choice
- 1 onion
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes + equal amount of water
- 1 1/2 tsp chipotle powder or 1 whole chipotle in adobo (chopped)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- 3 roasted red peppers, chopped
- 2 C squash of preference (delicata,butternut etc.) cut into cubes
- 1 C sweet potato, cubed
- 1 whole chicken (about 3-5 lbs)
- 1 can full fat coconut milk
- 1 lime + extra for garnish
- large handful cilantro, chopped
- 1 ripe avocado, sliced
Instructions
- In a large pot or slow cooker heat oil and add onion and garlic. Cook until golden and fragrant and add crushed tomatoes, spices and salt.
- Add the whole chicken, roasted red peppers,squash, sweet potato and water to cover chicken. Cover and let cook on low for 1 1/2 hours.
- Remove the cooked chicken and place in a large bowl. Let it cool a bit before removing meat from the carcass.
- Add pulled chicken, coconut milk and the juice from one lime.
- Serve with chopped cilantro, fresh avocado and lime wedges.
