Chicken Parsnip Kale Soup

Br-r-r.  It’s January and there’s a cool nip in the air in central Florida. As you might imagine, cold days are few here. But whenever the mercury drops and the wind rustles through the tree branches, I long to curl up in a Lazy Boy recliner with the remote control and a bowl of delicious homemade soup. 

In the past, I used to make a version of this soup using butter and cream. But, by replacing these 2 ingredients with ghee and coconut milk, I can diet and still enjoy the rich flavors of one of my all-time favorite cold weather foods. Yum.

Chicken Parsnip Kale Soup

Ingredients:

Makes about 6 small bowl servings

1 whole leftover free-range roaster chicken carcass

1 cup of chicken meat scraps

1 ½ teaspoon olive oil (non-virgin)

3 tablespoons ghee

Sea salt & herb seasoning to taste

½ teaspoon onion powder

3 cups hot water

1 cup coconut water

2 cup So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk

½ cup kale

1 large peeled parsnip cut in chunks

¼ cup leftover cooked brown rice

1 small onion peeled and cut in chunks

In an uncovered 3-quart saucepan, lightly sauté the chicken carcass and meat scraps in olive oil and ghee for 5 minutes. Add water and bring to a full boil for about 10 minutes. Turn carcass.  Cook 10 more minutes  or until about half of the water has boiled down. Turn heat down and add coconut water and milk. Simmer on low heat until broth begins to thicken (about 15 minutes).  Scrape chicken remnants from carcass and remove the bones from the soup. Add parsnip chunks.  If desired, add additional water to thin out. Stir in kale, onions, and rice.  Cook for about 10 minutes or until parsnip is softened. Turn off heat and remove pot from burner. Cover and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Serve hot with a tossed salad and brown rice crackers.

Disclaimer: I'm an amateur cook whose skills were learned from and honed by my mama, an amazing cook of old school southern fare. And because I'm no expert, recipes featured in my blog will NOT include caloric or nutritional information.