Persian Chicken Soup

I have been sick since last Tuesday with a sore throat that just won’t give up and take a hike. I rarely get sick and frankly, I hate being sick.  I know that part of me not getting well has been my own fault though, because I just get up in the morning and go about my usual business. By Friday afternoon I was getting worse, especially at night when I started coughing.  Finally, I gave in and started taking Theraflu instead of loading up on Vitamin C and Zinc hoping that my body would heal itself out.  I pretty much spent most of Saturday and all of Sunday in bed.

So what kind of food comes to mind when one is sick? CHICKEN SOUP!!!

One of my favorite soups to eat while sick is the Chicken Soup featured in today’s post. It is simple yet very comforting.  It is easy to make and I always make enough to have leftovers for a few days. Believe it or not, it is also a very budget friendly meal to make.  I purchased all the ingredients from our local ethnic grocery store for less than $10!

Forgive me for the pictures being of OK quality. I have to tell ya, cooking and taking pictures at the same time while you are feeling under the weather is challenging.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, skinned

1 large onion

3 carrots

4 small Yukon Gold potatoes

3 small dried Persian limes

Through the years that I have made this soup I made a couple of changes from the way I first learned how to cook it.  Just a couple of extra step for more flavor, that’s all I do.  Cut the veggie as shown above in the picture. Smash the dried Persian limes with a knife. By the way, I like to use Yukon Gold potatoes because you don’t have to peel them and also because I like how they maintain their shape and taste buttery.

Line the  bottom of your pot with the onion slices. Save one complete round to place inside the bird.

Place chicken breast down in the pot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Add potatoes, carrots, and dried Persian limes.

Add 2 cups of water.  Cook on medium for 2 hours.  Baste chicken every so often with the juices.  Also check and adjust seasoning.

You will end up with a delicious chicken soup with a fantastic tasting broth. Also, because the chicken is cooked breast down, the white meat will be juicy and tender with some added flavor from the onions.

I know that my little green friend on the top right hand corner of the above picture is anything but Persian. I was introduced to Mr. Jalapeño when I moved to the USA. We got along pretty well from the get go.  Much to my surprise, one fine day I found out that he is actually loaded with Vitamin C.  Since Mr. Jalapeño and I got along so well and I found out he can help out when one needs extra help when feeling under the weather, I decided to add him to my soup. I usually cut one in slices and throw it in my soup. Mr. Jalapeño adds a nice amount of heat and flavor to the soup and if you feel congested it totally opens you up.

Before I forget, another thing that I like to do is squeeze half of a Persian Lime on my bowl of soup.  So good!

It might sound strange, but you can also pour some of this soup over rice the same way you would with a Khoresht (stew).  It is really good that way too! Persian rice making methods can be found here and here.

* UP DATE *

I went to my  doctor’s office this morning and was seen by his very nice and sweet PA.  You know what she told me? She said that studies  show that eating Chicken Soup when sick actually helps. I giggled.  I thought I’d share with the rest of you!