White Bean Chicken Soup

Was this the best soup I’ve ever had, no.  Was it the worst, no.  But, I will tell you what it was – perfect for a quick, cold evening, where all you wanted was a warm bowl of soup.  Fall (or what I used to call winter in Vancouver) has officially hit in Toronto and the temperatures seemed to have fallen quickly.  As I walked home from work tonight, I wished I had my scarf.  Luckily, one quick stop at the store, and I had what I needed for tonight’s dinner – and my recipe swap recipe.

Simple ingredients, simple steps and simple flavours.  That’s all that’s to this soup.  Feel free to play around with the ingredients too – I did.  I added an extra yellow pepper, some carrots, celery and even some Sriracha, to kick up the heat even more.  I also opted to do my own “taco” spice mix, and I added some thin noodles to make it more “soupy”.  We served this along with a fresh baguette and it was a perfect weeknight meal – thanks to the blog Seven Ate Nine!  BTW – I renamed it soup because I added more liquid than the original recipe called for, therefore making it more soupy – which we didn’t mind!

Enjoy!

White Bean Chicken Soup

Yields:  4 Servings
Prep Time:  10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• handful of baby carrots, diced
• 2 bell peppers (any color!), diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, grated
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, diced
• 1 carton of chicken stock (783ml)
• 1 can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• salt & pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1 TBSP sriracha
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• fresh cilantro (about a handful), chopped
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt, for garnish

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat for a minute or two.  Add the chicken to the pan and saute for 5 – 10 minutes, until no longer pink.

Add the onions, carrots, celery and peppers to the pan.  Continue to cook over medium heat for an additional 10 minutes.  Add the garlic, and cook for 30 seconds, or until fragrant.

Once the vegetables have softened, add the spices (basil, chili powder etc.) to the pan.  Stir to mix.   Then, add the kidney beans and chicken stock to the pot.

Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.  Once it reaches a boil, reduce heat and simmer over low heat for 10 – 15 minutes.

Season with S&P, and serve!  Top with cilantro and yogurt, if so desired.

Enjoy!

Recipe Adapted From Seven Ate Nine