Chicken Curry and Root Vegetable Soup
I’ve been dabbling in the February Cookbook of the Month, Aida Mollenkamp’s Keys to the Kitchen this past week, and I’m finding it’s far more than a cookbook – it’s also a comprehensive manual, a handbook for people who aren’t comfortable past a certain point (like spaghetti with sauce from a jar, maybe) in the kitchen. It can teach you to do everything from making pizza dough and your own chicken stock to sharpening knives the right way and throwing a dinner party. In short, it’s impressive. The recipes Mollenkamp shares tend to fall into the category “classic with a twist,” meaning she’ll give you something that has classic roots, like a Spanish tortilla (egg and potato pancake), but throw in something unexpected, something that adds flair, like chorizo.
The only downside is that in its purest form, I’d call this a “weekend cookbook,” meaning the recipes in it involve cooking from the ground up as much as possible, stopping just shy of asking you to can your own tomato paste. And while I can appreciate that, because I love to cook from scratch and to stock my own pantry as much as I can, it’s just not realistic most of the time when I’m juggling a full-time job and a toddler.
For example, the recipe I’m going to share today began with making your own chicken stock. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that didn’t happen – at least not right then, when I was making the soup. I do, however, have several quarts of homemade turkey stock in the freezer, and I pulled out one of those to use. And since I wasn’t cooking a whole chicken for stock in the moment, and then using the meat in the soup, I improvised with a pound of skinless, boneless chicken thighs. I added some carrots, which were languishing in the vegetable bin. I left out a couple of ingredients that were required in small quantities, because I was out of them (oops!). Which is why this cookbook and this recipe today are a great illustration of what being in the kitchen is all about: improvising.
Julia Child knew that cooking was improvisation, an act in the moment, a dance of sorts, and if you watch even one or two episodes of her TV show The French Chef, she will undoubtedly mention this. Personally, I find that the more I cook, and especially the more I try new recipes, I almost never end up following a recipe to the smallest detail. The reasons for this are often simple. My stove tends to be hotter than some, so where an instruction calls for “medium-high” heat, I often cook on “medium.” If a recipe calls for butternut squash, but I have sweet potatoes in the house that I need to use up, I might substitute one for the other, depending on the recipe. I leave out herbs and spices I know I don’t like, and add ones I do. If something seems negotiable, I may choose to forego it. This is the beauty of cooking. No recipe is sacred. It’s the act of creation, instead, that is the sacred part, and the fact that we all have permission to go our own ways (and to make mistakes, to fail and try again). But I’m waxing poetic, here.
This Chicken Curry and Root Vegetable Soup is a perfect winter recipe. If you live someplace where the farmers markets are open year round, as I do, you can find locally grown root vegetables in the being sold by the folks who grew them in the middle of winter, which is nice. This makes a good-sized pot of soup, and it’s beautiful to look at as well as delicious, with chunks of gold and orange vegetables floating in a creamy, golden broth. Thanks to the curry, it’s warming on the coldest of days. Like any hot soup, the best accompaniment is fresh, warm bread – in this case, naan, which seems to be available at almost any grocery store, from Costco to Trader Joe’s. Of course, you can always make your own.
Chicken Curry and Root Vegetable Soup
Adapted from Keys to the Kitchen by Aida Mollenkamp
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 small or 1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into dice
1 pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into dice
4-5 carrots, peeled or scrubbed well and sliced into coins
1 teaspoon kosher or fine grain sea salt, plus more to taste
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
4 cups poultry stock
14 ounces canned diced tomatoes in their juices
14 ounces coconut milk
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
1/3 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup sliced green onions
In a large soup pot or Dutch oven placed over medium heat, warm the oil until it is liquified. Add the onion, and sauté until it is just beginning to turn translucent and tender, about 3 minutes.
Add the sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots, and sauté another 3-5 minutes, until they begin to soften.
Stir in the salt, pepper, curry powder, ginger, garlic, and thyme. Cook, stirring continually, a few minutes more to allow the vegetables to absorb the seasonings.
Add the stock, tomatoes, and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Add the chicken, and continue to simmer until the meat is cooked through. Just before serving, stir in the peanut butter, cilantro, and green onions. Allow to heat through for a couple of minutes.
Serves 8.
Here’s the printable recipe. Enjoy!
