Looking for a way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers? Assuming your holiday included a pasture raised roast chicken, we've got you covered! Maybe you're just craving a little comfort food or are feeling under the weather – this soup is everything you need. Delicious pasture raised chicken, anti-inflammatory ginger, garlic, and turmeric, plus savory rosemary and thyme...it doesn't get better than this. Instead of your classic egg noodle, we use pearl couscous here which is just divine. To really pack a seriously nutritious and flavorful punch, use homemade chicken broth here. Let's get cooking!  

INGREDIENTS

• 1915 Farm Pasture Raised Chicken Legs (~1.5 lbs), 1 lb. Chicken Breasts, or Whole Chicken. Cooked and shredded or diced – see note below
• Kosher salt & freshly cracked black pepper
• 4 tbsp butter
• 2 small yellow onions, or 1 large, diced
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 3 stalks of celery, diced
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced or grated
• 2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
• 1 tbsp freshly grated turmeric (or 1 tsp ground turmeric)
• 6 cups chicken broth (ideally homemade from 1915 Farm chicken bones ;)
• 1 large sprig of rosemary, leaves stripped from stem and finely chopped
• 5-6 sprigs of thyme, leaves stripped from stem and finely chopped
• 1 cup pearl couscous (or your favorite small noodle, ditalini works great too)
• 1 lemon
• 2/3 cup frozen peas, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

If using leftover chicken, shred or dice about 2 cups of cooked chicken. If starting with uncooked chicken, preheat oven to 400° and season with salt, pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. Lemon pepper works great here too. Bake chicken until internal temperature reaches 165°. Alternatively, add seasoned chicken to the Instant Pot with a splash of broth and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes for leg quarters, 10 minutes for breasts.

Place a large dutch oven or pot over medium heat and add butter. Once melted, add onion, carrots, and celery. Season with 2 large pinches of kosher salt and a few turns of fresh cracked pepper. Sauté for 5-7 minutes, stirring often, until vegetables are softened and onions are beginning to turn translucent. 

Next, add the ginger, turmeric, garlic, rosemary, and thyme. Cook while stirring for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the chicken broth (and a few pinches of salt if using homemade broth), followed by cooked chicken. Bring soup to a boil then stir in couscous. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered for 20-25 minutes. 

Squeeze juice from lemon into the soup. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt and fresh cracked pepper if desired. 

We hope you enjoy this recipe! If you’d like to share your delicious dish on Instagram, don’t forget to tag us @1915_Farm

P.S. If you love our pasture raised chicken – consider subscribing to the new Grassroots Meat Club (ships free in TX, reduced in other states). Each box includes a variety of hand-selected grassfed and pasture raised meats, such as chicken breasts, chicken tenders, leg quarters, wings, thighs, drumsticks, whole chicken, ground beef, kabobs, stew meat, stir fry, cutlets, London broil (top round), beef roasts, beef ossobuco, short ribs, various sausages, pork roasts, pork chops, bacon, ground pork, fajita meat, country style ribs, spare ribs, and bacon!

Recipe adapted from Ambitious Kitchen