An all in one bowl of goodness, this lemony chicken soup is supercharged with five vegetables and green lentils. The lemon, garlic, thyme and parsley gives it the most scrumptious complex taste, and there is an optional kick of chilli for those who love a touch of fire with their food.
Soup is extremely nourishing, and I developed this for people as a recuperation bowl of goodness after illness, as it is easy to digest and settling on the tummy. It’s quite a thick hearty soup (more like a stew) as I find kids prefer it chunky. However, do add some extra stock if you prefer to thin it out.
When the weather is nippy it is lovely to send kids off to school with a warm flask of soup in their lunch bag. It’s also a welcoming tummy warmer after an afternoon of sport.
Serve with wholemeal baguettes or pitta breads for a quick lunch or with buttery mashed potatoes for a family meal.
To feed a baby under 12 months, draw off some of the soup before adding the salt, pepper and chilli. You can also blend it up for very young babies at the start of their weaning journey.
- 400 g Fresh Tomatoes
- 1 l Boiling Water
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 500 g Chicken Thighs (deboned & chopped into small chunks)
- 1 Onion (peeled & finely diced)
- 1 Leek (washed & finely diced)
- 2 Carrots (topped, tailed, peeled & finely diced)
- 1 Celery Stick (topped, tailed & finely diced)
- 1 Garlic Clove
- 1 tbsp Thyme (fresh or dried)
- 1 tbsp Parsley (fresh)
- 400 g Green Lentils (1 tin, rinsed)
- 500 ml Chicken Stock (or vegetable stock, ideally fresh)
- 2 pieces Cavolo Nero (stalk removed & finely chopped. You can use kale or Savoy cabbage)
- 0.5 Lemon (juice & zest)
- Dried Chill Flakes (optional)
- Salt & Pepper
- Place room temperature tomatoes in a large mixing bowl and pour over boiling hot water. Wait for the skins to start wrinkling (about 5 minutes) and then peel the skin off and discard the bitter tomato seeds.
- Whilst waiting for the tomatoes, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and brown the chicken. Set the chicken aside in a small bowl.
- Add the onion and leeks to the remaining olive oil and fry gently until soft. Add in the carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, parsley, tomatoes and green lentils and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Then add in the stock and the chicken, cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes until the carrots are soft and the chicken is cooked through.
- Add the cavolo nero for the last 3 minutes.
- Grate in the lemon zest and add the lemon juice and chilli flakes.
- Then add the salt and pepper to taste.
- Add orzo, red lentil rice or farro to the soup to give it an extra boost.
What could you substitute tomatoes for?
You can use roasted red peppers or leave the tomatoes out!