In addition to the universal curative brothy chicken soup, Chowhounds offer a few simple go-to soup recipes that set them right when they’re feeling under the weather.
VirgoBlue likes to make lentil soup when she’s sick: Sauté a chopped onion, two chopped carrots, and a chopped green bell pepper until soft. Add 2 1-quart boxes of chicken stock and two cans of diced tomatoes, a bay leaf, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, salt and pepper, and 3/4 cup green lentils. Cook for about an hour.
daily_unadventures makes tomato soup, which has, she notes, plenty of vitamin C: Sauté some diced onions in olive oil until soft; add 3 cloves of minced garlic and cook for another 2 minutes, then add a large can of whole tomatoes, dried oregano and basil, a bay leaf, salt and pepper, and chicken stock, and simmer for 20 minutes. If you want to make it heartier, add spinach and lemon zest at the end of cooking, and some noodles or tortellini, if you like.
Keramel’s sinus-clearing take on chicken soup for a cold is a spicy Mexican tortilla soup: Poach 2 sliced cloves of garlic and 2 chicken breasts in 8 cups chicken stock until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken to a cutting board to cool, keeping the stock warm. When the chicken is cooled, shred it into small pieces with a fork. Meanwhile, blend a can of chopped tomatoes and their juices with 3 cloves of garlic and a roughly chopped small onion until smooth. Add to the chicken stock, along with cumin, chili powder, coriander, and oregano to taste, and cook for 10 minutes, adding whatever vegetables strike your fancy (chopped carrots/celery, cooked or canned black beans, corn, etc.). Near the end of cooking, add pickled jalapeño peppers and the chicken. Serve over fried tortilla strips or crushed tortilla chips.
Board Links: Best Soup Recipe when you’re sick
