Soup is a great winter warmer. Hearty and wholesome, it really fills you up on cold dark evenings when all you want to do is curl up in front of the fire. This soup is no exception. With a nod to Mexican cuisine with hints of chili and colorful peppers, as well as vibrant carrots and chives, this FODMAP-free dish will really brighten up your day. If you suffer from intestinal distress that goes along with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), eating a diet that is low in FODMAPS can be a big help.
Whilst this recipe can be a little time-consuming, the finished product is delicious, and if you make a large batch you can reheat it in days to follow, or even take it to work for lunch. If you have a slow cooker you could equally add all the ingredients apart from the rice and cream cheese in the morning and leave it to cook on low heat throughout the day. Then when you get home all you need to do is increase the heat and add the rice.
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 liters of cold water
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 red or yellow pepper, diced
- 3 diced carrots
- 2 sticks of diced celery
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- 400g brown rice
- 2 tablespoons dairy-free cream cheese or Greek yogurt
Instructions
- Chop, dice, and slice all ingredients as required
- In a large casserole dish, brown the chicken breasts on all sides on medium heat.
- Add the diced pepper, carrots, and celery and fry for 3 minutes.
- Add the bay leaves, chives, red pepper flakes, chili powder and pour the water over all the ingredients and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to simmer and cook uncovered for approximately 1 hour.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and cook broth, uncovered, for an additional 30 minutes.
- Increase the heat and return the broth to a boil.
- Add the rice and mix well.
- Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook for a further 20 minutes.
- While rice is cooking, slice up chicken.
- Add chicken to the soup and heat for another 10-15 minutes.
- Remove the soup from the heat.
- In a small bowl, add 2 tablespoons of the soup broth to cream cheese/yogurt and mix well.
- Slowly add the cream cheese mixture to the soup, ensuring to stir constantly to avoid the cream cheese curdling.
Garnish each bowl with a sprig of fresh parsley and serve.
