Chicken soup for health
Posted on 16 August 2012 - 01:55pm
If you’re pressed for time, this one-pot meal can be whipped up without too much hassle. It is also suitable for young and old, and those in need of a warm, soupy meal while recovering from a short spell of illness.
You could replace the macaroni with other types of pasta or rice noodles. All you need is some chicken stock made from boiling and simmering a few chicken carcasses, which could be prepared ahead and conveniently frozen to be used later when needed.
Vegetables such as celery, carrot and onion are always good to use in soups to sweeten and make it more flavourful. Their varied colours not only make this dish look appealing, especially to those with poor appetite, but also provide the different vitamins, minerals and fibre needed by our bodies.
For young children, you could cut the carrots into interesting shapes such as stars, hearts, triangles, and use animal-shaped or alphabet pasta to encourage them to eat.
And they get to learn about shapes, letters and animals along the way too!
Chicken Macaroni Soup
► Ingredients
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
300g chicken breast, diced
1 litre chicken stock
1 cup macaroni
Salt
Pepper
► Method
1. Marinate the chicken with ½tsp salt and a dash of pepper. Set aside.
2. Cook the macaroni in a pot of boiling water according to packet instructions. Set aside.
3. Bring the chicken stock to a boil. Add the chopped onions, carrot, celery and chicken.
4. Stir to prevent the chicken pieces from sticking together. Cook until the vegetables are soft (about 15 minutes).
5. Add salt to taste.
6. To serve, fill a bowl with some macaroni and pour soup with the ingredients into the bowl. Add a dash of pepper if you like. Stir to mix all the ingredients together.