Balsamic Tuscan chicken and root vegetable soup

A pot of soup like this is one of the simplest forms of care you can offer yourself. It cooks mostly on its own, feeds you for several days, and asks little in return. That kind of quiet reliability is worth building into a week where you are working steadily toward calming an overactive immune system.

The chicken here is a source of glycine, an amino acid involved in the body's own repair work, and the carrots and sweet potato bring beta carotene, which the body can convert toward vitamin A, involved in supporting the gut lining. The balsamic vinegar gives the broth a warm sweetness, welcome in modest amounts.

Let the kitchen fill with garlic and thyme while it simmers, and take a moment before you eat to notice the color in the bowl, the deep orange of the carrots and sweet potato against the dark broth. A little presence at the table is part of what makes a meal nourish you.

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts
• Coconut oil, for cooking
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (the signature slightly-sweet broth; start with 1/3 cup)
• 1 large sweet potato, diced
• 1 large turnip, diced
• 3 large carrots, sliced
• 1 white onion, diced
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• Fresh thyme sprigs
• Sea salt
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Dried oregano
• 2 cups baby spinach (no tomato, no white beans, and no parmesan, which are not Core; this version stays clean with root vegetables and greens)

Method

• Salt the chicken breasts and pan-cook them in coconut oil over medium heat until cooked through, then shred. You can also use pre-cooked roast chicken to skip this step.
• Add the broth, 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar, sweet potato, turnip, carrots, onion, garlic, sea salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano to a large soup pot. Lay the thyme sprigs on top and add the shredded chicken.
• Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook until the root vegetables are tender, roughly 25 to 30 minutes (simmer time estimated; the source gives only the pressure-cooker time). Taste and add the rest of the balsamic if you want it sweeter.
• Put a handful of raw spinach in each bowl and ladle the hot soup over it so the greens wilt in the bowl.

Instant Pot variation

Saute the salted chicken right in the pot with coconut oil, then shred. Add everything except the spinach, starting with 1/3 cup balsamic and the thyme on top. Pressure cook on manual for 15 minutes, then quick release. Wilt the spinach in each bowl as above.

*Adapted from a-squirrel-in-the-kitchen*