Asparagus soup with chicken

Written by Catherine Saxelby on Tuesday, 07 July 2009.
Tagged: healthy cooking, healthy eating, healthy recipe, soup

Ready In: 35 minutes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4

This is a smooth filling soup which nourishes the stomach and the soul. It still tastes wonderful with or without the chicken - if you're after a meatless version.

Ingredients

2 chicken thighs with the bone, about 400 g in weight
2 cups water
4 medium potatoes (about 500 g), peeled and finely diced
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1½ cups (375 mL) chicken stock
420 g can asparagus tips, drained
200 g carton plain yoghurt
Ground black pepper
TO SERVE:
4 crusty bread rolls

Nutrition per serve

1519 Kilojoules (363 Calories), 6 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 48 g carbohydrate (including 8 g sugars), 8 g fibre, 725 mg sodium. Read our nutrition rating system.

Directions

1. Place chicken and water in a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for about 12-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked and starts to fall off the bone. Remove chicken thighs, strip meat off the bones, shred thinly and set aside.

2. Place diced potatoes, celery and onion into the chicken liquid. Add the stock. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until potato is soft when pierced with a knife.

3. Add asparagus tips and yoghurt. Puree in batches in blender until smooth. Or use a hand-held stick blender. Just before you want to serve, add the shredded chicken and reheat gently, taking care not to boil as the yoghurt will curdle. Serve soup sprinkled with ground pepper with a roll if you wish.

Variations

If you have lots of fresh asparagus, chop the softer parts of the stems and cook with the potato, celery and onion. Delete the canned asparagus.
Want a thinner soup? Use milk in place of the yoghurt.
After a meat-free soup? Delete the chicken, water and chicken stock and make this up using vegetable stock instead.