Garlicky Chicken Soup: Leftovers Redone Deliciously for Souper (Soup, Salad, & Sammie) Sundays

This post is a just a bit backwards because I am showing you the re-purposed leftovers first, instead of the original dish. This delicious Garlicky Chicken Soup was made with the delicious leftovers of Nigella Lawson's delicious Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic, which I won't post until next week, but I assure you, was as mentioned...delicious. ;-) The recipe for the chicken, besides being on the Food Network website, can be found in her newest book "Nigella Kitchen."

Garlicky Chicken Soup

adapted from Nigella's Kitchen

Nigella says, "Making Leftovers Right: If I do have any chicken left over - and I don't think I've ever had more than 1 thigh portion - I take out the bone then and there and put the chicken in the refrigerator. Later (within a day or two), I make a garlicky soup, by removing the chicken, adding some chicken broth or water to the cold, jelled juices, placing it over a high heat and, when that's hot, shredding the chicken into it and heating it through thoroughly, till everything is piping hot. You can obviously add rice or pasta."

My Adaptation:

I stirred the "cold, jelled juices" leftover into 4 cups of my homemade chicken stock, squeezed in about 10 cloves worth of the leftover roasted garlic, added about 1/2 of a medium carrot diced, and brought it to a boil for about 5 minutes. I then added about 3/4 cup of dried stelline (little stars) pasta and cooked for another 5 minutes, before adding the shredded meat of two of the leftover chicken thighs and cooking for another couple of minutes until the pasta was tender and everything heated through. I then seasoned with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. It made about 2 large (2 cup) servings.

Notes/Results: The comfort of a childhood favorite Campbell's Chicken n' Stars soup, but about 10 times better. Lots of soft, mellow garlic and chicken flavor and chock full of the little pasta shapes. (BTW--don't be freaked out on the amount of garlic--since it has roasted / braised along with the chicken it is very mellow and it really does not overpower the other ingredients--it just adds delicious flavor.) If you are feeling stuffy and out of sorts with the world, this is the soup to help clear it out of you. The chicken on it's own (more on that later this week) is well worth making, but make sure to reserve a piece or two and some of the garlic to make this homey, satisfying soup. I will make this again for sure.

We have a small collection of wonderful, warming soups this week from the hardy souls who took the time to make a pot of soup during the busy holiday. Let's take a look.

First up my friend Kat from Our Adventures in Japan made a spicy bowl of goodness, Kat's Taco Soup. Kat says, "In January, I threw together a chili soup. Then the other day, one of my Twitter friends tweeted about making taco soup. It is definitely soup weather here so I threw a taco soup together too.This was so easy and delicious. I think if you make this thicker (less water), you could use it as a topping for nachos. I didn't add any salt as the seasoning packet & cheese have lots already."

Debbi from Debbi Does Dinner... Healthy & Low Calorie took another favorite food, pizza and used it for a slow cooker Pizza Soup. Debbie says, "This is a family favorite. We've adapted it quite a lot to suit our family. My little one loves pasta but isn't too much of a soup fan. I add a LOT of noodles to this and it ends up more like a casserole than it does a soup. It resembles a soup the first day but the leftovers are completely like a casserole."

Tigerfish from Teczcape-An Escape to Food made a hearty Kale and Potato Soup this week and says. "This can become my favorite cooking tip or kitchen quote: When in doubt, add tomatoes. I wanted to make kale the main-dish for me this time, not as a side such as Kale with Garlic and Mushrooms and Garlic Kale Stir-Fry. Tomatoes come save me! Make me an appetizing delicious soup! The kale soup would not have made it without the tomatoes. Come on, simply sauteing the onions and garlic, plus some broth then adding those kale is not going to make me my kind of soup. But with tomatoes? Definitely"

Another kale fan, Lori at Fake Food Free used leftover turkey from the grill to make her Smoky Turkey and Kale Soup. Lori says, "If you have smoked turkey, it adds such a complex flavor that makes the soup. I cut some breast meat and then I also placed a turkey leg in the soup to reheat for about 5 minutes, removed it and cut off some of the meat to add back to the soup. You can do this with any leftover pieces, or you can simply add cooked and shredded or chopped turkey meat at the end."

Finally Nicole from Cocoa and Coriander tried to find a split pea soup that both she and her boyfriend could agree on and tried this Lemony Split Pea and Broccoli Soup. She says, "I loved this dish for its creamy texture, light flavor and heartiness, but perhaps most of all because of the tangy quality that the lemon juice and zest gives it. Matt, however, thought the lemon was overwhelming and he felt that it just didn't taste like split pea soup. I am going to have to try making a more classic version of split pea soup for Matt...but this is a great version for someone who doesn't need a recipe to be anything like the original."

There you have it, a terrific small batch of five soups--perfect to keep you warm and cozy on a cold winter's night. Thanks to Kat, Debbi, Tigerfish, Lori and Nicole for joining in this week. If you have a soup, salad or sandwich that you would like to share, just click on the Souper Sundays logo on the side bar for all of the details.

Have a wonderful week!