So, there's a nasty cold going 'round the Tech Pubs department at work. So far, I've managed to avoid coming down with anything serious, but I did find myself with a bit of a sniffle and a kind of blah feeling on Tuesday. Sleeping for about 10 hours helped a lot. By Thursday night, I really felt like what I needed to kick out any lingering malaise was a nice bowl of spicy chicken soup. (I'm a big believer in the healing power of soup. And of capsaicin.)

So, I devised a recipe using the contents of the fridge and the pantry. And it came out so successful that I think it's going to become a semi-regular staple.

Spicy Chicken Soup

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 cups vegetable broth (1)
2 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 small dried red chile pepper (2)
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and lightly crushed (or to taste)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, sliced
1 cup frozen corn kernels (3)
2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced (or to taste) (4)
1/2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp chipotle chili powder (5)
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp coriander
2 15 oz. cans Muir Glen organic fire-roasted tomatoes (6)

For garnish (use as many or as few as you like):
diced avocado
chopped scallions
chopped cilantro
sour cream

1. Put the broth, water, garlic, bay leaf and dried chile pepper in a soup pot, and bring to a simmer.
2. Add the chicken breasts, and simmer until they are cooked through, 15-20 minutes.
3. While the chicken is simmering, heat ~1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion and carrot, and cook until onion starts to turn translucent.
4. Add corn, chipotle chiles, chili powder, chipotle chili powder, cumin and coriander. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are just tender. (Well, really, cook until the chicken is done.)
5. When the chicken is cooked, remove the dried chile, bay leaf, and chicken breasts from the broth. Leave the garlic in there - it's yummy. Discard the bay leaf and chile. Using two forks, shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
6. Put the shredded chicken back into the pot. Add the vegetable mixture from the skillet, and then the canned tomatoes with their juices.
7. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Simmer 10-20 minutes more to blend the flavors and allow the veggies to finish cooking if necessary.
8. Serve with little bowls of avocado, scallions, etc. for people to sprinkle on their soup.

I found that this produced a pleasantly spicy soup - enough heat to be noticeable, and to clear your sinuses a bit, but not so much as to be overpowering. Serious chili heads might want to add more of the chipotles; people who are sensitive to spice might want to dial back a bit.

I bet a squeeze of lime juice in each bowl of soup at serving time would be a very nice touch. I didn't have any limes on hand, or I'd have tried it.

Mmmmm, soup.

(1) The sensible thing to use when making chicken soup would be chicken broth, of course, but all I had in the pantry were a couple of boxes of Swanson's Certified Organic veggie broth. It made a nice soup.

(2) Probably optional, if you don't feel the need for a little extra spice. I threw it in because I have a giant bag of these that I picked up at the Indian spice store.

(3) Next time I think I'd use a bit more corn - maybe 2 cups. I used 1 because I was finishing off an open bag of frozen corn, and didn't want to open a second bag. And fresh corn kernels would probably be even better, when they're in season.

(4) Canned chipotles in adobo sauce freeze very well, by the way, which is awfully nice, because they come in cans that hold 8-20 chile peppers, and I've never seen a recipe that called for more than 2.

(5) Or throw in some more regular chili powder if you don't have any chipotle chili powder.

(6) Or regular canned diced tomatoes, but I think the fire-roasted ones add a nice touch.