Before I get to the recipe for this deliciously embellished chicken soup, I want to take a moment to tell you about Lauren of Celiac Teen’s new e-book.

Lauren is a talented young recipe blogger with a big, big heart. She compiled a lovely e-book of bloggers’ favorite recipes (yes, there’s even one from yours truly).

All proceeds from the book will go toward Haitian earthquake relief. If you purchase a copy before 2/12, the Canadian government will match your donation. And on top of that, Lauren’s parents are matching donations up to $1000!

So please head over to Lauren’s site and purchase a copy of the book; you’ll get a really a nice collection of recipes for such a great cause. Thank you Lauren for taking on and completing this great project…you already know I think you are amazing, but I’ll say it again. You’re amazing!

As for today’s recipe, it’s a riff on my basic chicken soup (the recipe for which can be found Lauren’s book). It’s super nutritious and very soul-satisfying, two characteristic I definitely look for in a soup. Because kale has been getting so much love on this blog lately, I used collards in this recipe…

…but you can use any dark green leafy vegetable that you like. Remember that dark leafy greens are mineral powerhouses, and they benefit the body in numerous ways. Make sure to use local and organic ingredients (including the chicken), whenever possible.

Chicken Soup with Collards and Coconut Milk

Ingredients:

*1 Tb. butter
*1 Tb. olive oil
*1 whole chicken, approx. 3-4 pounds, preferably free-range
*1 onion, peeled and chopped
*4 carrots, peeled and chopped
*1 bunch collard greens, cleaned and chopped
*1/2 bunch fresh parsley or cilantro, minced
*whole coconut milk (about 2 Tb. per bowl, or more to taste) for serving
*sriracha or sambal oelek (garlic chili sauce) for serving-optional
*minced green onion for garnish-optional
*course sea salt (white, black, pink or grey) to taste

Directions:

Heat olive oil and butter in a large soup pot. Place chicken in the pot and allow to sear for a minute or so on each side. Add a little water if necessary to prevent the chicken from burning. Add chopped onion and cook for a minute or two, moving the chicken around, again adding a little water to prevent burning.

Add the rest of the chopped carrot and celery, and then add enough water to cover the chicken (about 10 cups). Bring to a boil, skim any foam that rises to the top, and then reduce heat to lowest setting. Simmer for 50 minutes-1 hour, until the chicken is cooked through. Add the collards and parsley to the soup about 5 minutes before it has finished cooking.

Turn off heat. Carefully remove the chicken and allow to cool in a separate bowl.

If you are going to be serving all of the soup right away, you’ll want to remove the meat from the chicken bones and add it back into the soup (make sure you don’t burn yourself).

If you are eating just some of the soup right away, I suggest taking the meat off the chicken and then storing it in the refrigerator to add back into individual servings of soup. You can also reserve some of the chicken for another use.

Just before serving, mix 2 or more tablespoons of coconut milk into each bowl of soup. Add sriracha or garlic chili sauce to taste and sprinkle with minced green onions, if desired.

Remember not to discard your picked over chicken bones; store them in the freezer so that you can make chicken stock.

Tagged as: chicken soup, coconut chicken soup, collard greens

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