Roasted Chicken and Vegetable Soup

A bowl of soup with real substance to it is its own kind of nourishment, and this one delivers. What sets it apart is that everything roasts before it ever meets the broth, so the soup tastes deeper than the short cooking time would suggest. The roasted onion and garlic get blended into the base, which thickens it and gives it body without any cream or flour. It is the kind of meal that turns cooking for yourself into an act of real care.

The ingredients here are working for you. The chicken is a source of protein and zinc, which is involved in immune regulation and gut-barrier repair, and the sweet potato and butternut squash are a source of vitamin A, which is involved in immune and mucosal health. The spinach folded in at the end adds magnesium, which is involved in hundreds of enzyme reactions and in calming the nervous system.

Source your chicken and produce well, and let the colors of this soup, the orange squash, the green spinach, remind you that you are eating real food grown from the earth. Take a breath over the bowl before you start. The settled state you eat in is part of how the meal lands in your body.

Ingredients

• 1 pound chicken breast, cubed
• 3 carrots
• 1 small sweet potato
• 2 cups butternut squash
• 1 small onion (omit for interstitial cystitis)
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 6 cups chicken broth
• Dried parsley
• Dried thyme
• Dried rosemary
• Dried oregano
• 1/2 tablespoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 1/2 cups spinach

Omit the black pepper the source lists, which is off-limits on strict AIP. The parsley, thyme, rosemary, and oregano season the soup fully without it. Omit the onion if you are managing interstitial cystitis.

Method

• Heat the oven to 425F. Spread the cubed chicken on one side of a sheet pan. Toss the carrots, sweet potato, butternut squash, onion, and garlic with the coconut oil and salt and spread them on the other side. Roast for about 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked and the vegetables are tender.
• Blend the roasted onion and garlic until smooth, to thicken and flavor the base.
• Combine everything in a stockpot: the roasted chicken and vegetables, the blended onion and garlic, the broth, the water, the dried herbs, and the salt. Bring to a simmer.
• Add the spinach and simmer 5 to 10 minutes more, until it wilts. Serve hot.

Instant Pot variation

Roast the chicken and vegetables as written, since that is what gives the soup its depth, and blend the roasted onion and garlic smooth. Add everything except the spinach to the Instant Pot, seal, and cook on high pressure for about 5 minutes with a quick release. Stir in the spinach on the Saute setting until it wilts, then serve. (verify - untested conversion)

*Adapted from acleanplate.com*