Leetsstreet’s Luscious Chicken Soup

I made Leetsstreet’s Chicken Soup for the first time last night, and I’m afraid I didn’t do it justice: I had to make some substitutions and omissions to accommodate my time and ingredients. The good news is, it was still a luxurious soup! Warm, flavorful, comforting: it received rave reviews from both the hubby and me. I’m definitely looking forward to making this again and getting it closer to the original intent.

Note, though, that I did say “closer.” Saffron, called for twice in this recipe, just isn’t in my budget right now. In addition, I’m not one to exert more effort than I have to on a dish, and this soup can take a lot of work if you let it.

Happily, though, the remaining flavors and the nutrition in this soup are tip-top, and I don’t mind taking a couple of shortcuts. So this one is definitely a “keeper.”

Here’s how I will usually make this  soup from now on:

• Continue to omit the saffron. (Unless I can find a very inexpensive source!)
• Continue to make a partial recipe. I used the leftovers from my Easy Slow Cooker Roast Chicken, which I had already used to make stock. I had 1/3 to 1/2 the meat, and I used half portions for everything else.  (Psychologically, using that stock and the leftover meat just “feels” like less trouble than roasting a chicken especially for the soup!)
• Sauté the veggies or not, depending on my time and inclination.
• Use half a packet of frozen chopped spinach whenever I don’t have kale. (I don’t usually put greens in soup, but I may do it more often after trying this.)
• Try those tempered eggs, and hope I’m competent enough to keep using them! (This soup is already quite filling, and I imagine that the eggs make it even more so.)

The partial recipe (without saffron or eggs) made six servings for us, and cost us between $5.25 – $6.00 (depending on whether you call it 1/3 or 1/2 a chicken). Adding the eggs will cost a little more, but may stretch the recipe a bit. The soup has roughly 3 – 5 net carbs per serving.

If you’re already making your own chicken stock, you owe it to yourself to try Leetsstreet’s recipe. Even if you have to make a few tweaks to keep your wallet happy, your tastebuds will thank you for it.

(And if you’re not making your own stock yet, Leetsstreet’s Chicken Soup is a great reason to start. She even has instructions at the top of the recipe!)