Soups are a wonderful way to nourish our bodies especially in cooler weather and when we are recovering from illness. I love soups and they always feature on the menu in my home during autumn and winter. A friend challenged me to bring you a soup a week so for the next four weeks that’s what I’m going to do!

The soup I’m featuring this week is inspired by my Dutch mother-in-law who makes a delicious chicken and mushroom soup. My kids love Oma’s soup so I’ve taken her recipe and boosted it with extra immune boosting foods like shiitake mushrooms, ginger, onions and a homemade chicken bone broth.

It’s really one of the easiest soups to make. The chicken bone broth is not difficult but it takes time. For a chicken broth, you throw an organic chicken carcass or whole organic chicken in a slow cooker with a tbs apple cider vinegar, 2 litres of water or more, an onion or two, a carrot, celery, garlic and parsley. You let the broth simmer for 10 to 12 hours, cool and strain! If you’ve used a whole chicken, take the meat off and refrigerate or freeze for your soup or other meals.

Once you have your chicken bone broth, the next steps to making this soup are super easy.

Saute an onion for a minute or two then add a couple of teaspoons of fresh grated ginger, a teaspoon of miso and your bone broth (about 2 litres). Bring to a simmer and then add 250g swiss brown mushrooms and 250g shiitake mushrooms and simmer for 15 minutes. Next step is to add a big handful of bean sprouts and simmer for a further 2 minutes. You can also add some of the chicken meat if you want a heartier soup. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into a bowl and add chopped herbs and asian greens to each bowl. Enjoy!!

Shopping List

Broth

1 Organic Chicken

2 Onions

Apple cider vinegar

2 Carrots

Celery

Garlic

Parsley

Soup

250 g swiss brown mushrooms

250 g shiitake mushrooms (fresh or dried, follow packet instructions to rehydrate)

1 Onion

1 tsp Miso

100g bean sprouts

Herbs

Asian greens