Medicine in a Bowl: Tastes Good Going Down
After a mild Northeast winter gave way to an early spring that felt like August, winter is suddenly, brazenly back. If people are confused (to pack away winter sweaters or not to pack away?), Nature seems equally confounded. Early warm temperatures led to early blooms followed by unpredictable frost.
As for us humans, all those early blossoms meant an earlier than usual start to allergy season. Not to mention the wild temperature swings that some insist leads to catching cold. Or at least, that is what I am blaming for my own insufferable allergies and the terrible cold that has had my boyfriend down and out for the last week.
If the symptoms of colds and allergies are different in some ways - grogginess and coughing versus itchy watering eyes - they can also be the same: sneezing, runny nose, and congestion. It made me wonder if there wasn’t some common way to cure the all the sneezing going on around my house.
If there is one old wives' tale so embedded in our cultural thinking as to be taken for fact, it’s the cure-all power of chicken soup. If chicken soup relieves the sniffly symptoms of a cold, maybe it could work for my allergies as well? Maybe one pot of soup could be the answer to my and my boyfriend’s prayers?
In 2000 the University of Nebraska published a study attempting to settle once and for all whether there is a scientific basis for chicken soup helping to remedy the symptoms of colds. In a controlled study the researchers found evidence that some property in chicken soup (though they could not identify what) may help to slow the movement of neutrophils, a white blood cell that defends against infection. The slower movement would indicate some relief from the upper respiratory conditions associated with colds. That being said, the results were largely inconclusive.
Even if there is no official scientific backing, it is hard to deny the soothing comfort in a steaming bowl of chicken soup when stuffed up, whether from allergies or a common cold. So to bring some relief to the discomfort of my boyfriend’s cold and my allergies, I set out to whip up a pot of chicken soup both tasty and nutritious.
Shredded pre-cooked chicken may be the easiest route, but I wanted to extract more flavor from the meat by poaching my chicken on the bone in the broth that would form the base of the soup. If anything, the vitamins from a hearty dose of vegetables should add some healthful fighting power to the soup. To clear the airways, there is nothing like a little spicy jolt from a chopped chipotle pepper. And since the soup would be nothing if not comforting, I threw in a few noodles just to bulk it up and round it out.
Chicken off the bone and added back to the soup, pasta cooked just till soft, I ladled up a couple of heaping, piping hot bowls of soup. Topped with a pinch of cilantro, scattering of onions, and creamy chopped avocado, it was just as I hoped, delicious. Whether the benefits of chicken soup are physical or it is simply all in our heads, one thing cannot be denied: soup is one medicine that tastes great going down.
Made with cumin seeds, dried oregano, chipotle pepper in adobo, chicken stock, chicken legs, salt and black pepper, bay leaf, pasta, frozen corn, mushrooms
Serves/Makes: 4
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion
- 1 medium carrot, peeled
- 1 medium celery stalk
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
- 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 2 chicken legs, bone-in
- salt and black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup pasta (shells, orzo, macaroni, etc.)
- 1/2 cup frozen corn, defrosted, or canned corn, drained
- 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
- 2 medium tomatoes, diced
***Garnish***
- 1 avocado, peeled and diced
- 1 handful cilantro, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped white onion
Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over a medium flame. Finely chop the onion, peeled carrot, and celery. Add the vegetables to oil and sweat over medium heat for five minutes. Mince garlic. Add to vegetables along with cumin and oregano. Sweat for another two minutes until garlic is soft.
Mince chipotles and add to the pot with the vegetables. Pour in chicken stock and bring the mixtures to a boil, stirring to combine.
Meanwhile, remove skin from chicken legs and discard. Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. When stock has come to a boil, add chicken to the pot along with the bay leaf. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 20 minutes until chicken has cooked through. Remove chicken from soup to a cutting board and let cool slightly.
Stir in pasta, corn, mushrooms, and tomatoes and return to a simmer. Simmer for at least 10 minutes, until pasta is cooked through. When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones and shred. Return chicken to the soup and simmer for a couple minutes to reheat. Taste soup and adjust seasoning if necessary with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and top with optional garnish of diced avocado, chopped cilantro, and diced onions.
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