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Prep time
10 minutes
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Cook time
2 hours
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Serves
3 to 4
Author Notes
This combo of starchy red lentils, creamy potatoes, and fiery ginger is my ideal chicken soup. It’s the bowl my mom would make whenever I had a cold or tingle in my throat. The spicy pepper, warm turmeric, and perky green chiles quickly cleared up whatever ailed me. I hope you try it and make it a classic in your life, too. And if you’re on a real soup kick, check out my Spicy Chicken Soup With Sweet Potatoes & Cabbage, and fill up your freezer.
Want to make it your own? Here are my tips for lazy, cozy soup: Make a broth with roughly chunked aromatics (use what you got—skin-on onions, flaccid carrots, wilty celery) and chicken legs, which are loaded with bones and connective tissue for deep flavor without searing or roasting. After a couple episodes of Crime Junkie, drain the broth and return it to the pot. If you’re done for the day, stick it in the fridge and reheat in a day or two. Or turn on another podcast and keep going. To the hot broth, add whatever you’re feeling. Yukon golds instead of sweet potatoes? Kale instead of cabbage? Let that simmer while you pick the meat off the bone. At this point you can portion it into deli containers and freeze for a rainy day. Before digging in, add sizzled spices, chopped tender herbs, or lemon juice or vinegar for some pep in your step. And have fun with toppings. Think creamy yogurt or sour cream, crunchy crackers or chips, and fresh chiles or herbs. You can make chicken soup with whatever you’ve got—no need to leave the house or even put on pants.
—Sohla El-Waylly
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Amu’s Gingery Chicken Soup With Lentils & Potatoes
Ingredients
- Broth
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2
whole chicken legs
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1
small yellow onion, quartered
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1
(5-inch) piece ginger, smashed
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3
garlic cloves, smashed
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1 teaspoon
whole black peppercorns
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1 teaspoon
kosher salt
- Soup
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Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
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2
medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced into ½-inch cubes
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1/2 cup
red lentils, rinsed
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2 tablespoons
neutral oil (such as sunflower or grapeseed)
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1/2 teaspoon
black mustard seeds
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1/2 teaspoon
cumin seeds
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1/4 teaspoon
ground turmeric
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Plain yogurt, for serving
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Torn cilantro, for serving
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Thinly sliced Thai green chiles, for serving
Directions
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Make the broth: In a medium Dutch oven, combine all the ingredients. Slowly pour 6 cups of water on top. Bring to a boil over high heat. If foamy white scum floats to the top, skim it off with a ladle, spoon, or small sieve. (Don’t worry about getting all of it—just try to get as much as you can without losing too much broth.) Reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and cook for 1½ hours, until the chicken is tender and the broth is flavorful.
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Strain the broth into a large heatproof vessel (I use a big metal bowl). Return the broth to the Dutch oven. Transfer the chicken to a plate and discard the aromatics.
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Make the soup: Bring the broth to a gentle simmer. Taste the broth and season with salt and pepper as needed. Add the potatoes and lentils and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
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Meanwhile, pick the chicken meat off the bone, trying to maintain large chunks. Reserve the meat and discard the bones and skin.
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Once the potatoes and lentil are done, in a small skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat until it shimmers. Add the black mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and turmeric. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant and the mustard seeds start to pop, about 1 minute. Scrape the spiced oil into the soup and stir to incorporate. Add the reserved chicken meat and stir until warmed through. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
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Divide the soup into bowls and top with yogurt, cilantro, and chiles. Store ungarnished leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
Sohla El-Waylly is a Food52 Resident, sharing new riffable recipes every month that'll help you get creative in the kitchen. Watch her cook on YouTube in her new series, Off-Script With Sohla. Before she started developing fun recipes for home cooks, she worked as a chef in N.Y.C. and L.A., briefly owning a restaurant in Brooklyn with her husband and fellow chef, Ham El-Waylly. She lives in the East Village with Ham, their two dogs, and cat. Find out what else she's up to on Instagram @sohlae
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