Cold-Busting Chicken Soup
It’s that time of year when everyone seems to be feeling a little under the weather. The little ones are picking up bugs at nursery and school and the next thing you know everyone in the house is sniffling and sneezing away. Not only has Aaliyah had a dribbling nose recently, she’s also had a very chesty cough. Not just a little *cough*, one that comes from deep down and sounds like a heavy smoker’s cough! I’m not worried as in the past her chesty coughs generally clear within a couple of weeks. Although I would advise if a chesty cough goes on longer than three weeks, it’s probably worth visiting a GP.
So introducing my cold-busting chicken soup!
I first created this soup when Aaliyah was only 10 months old but I still make it for her now and she’s almost four. Whilst chicken soup is a fairly common 'cold soother', my version includes some cold preventing and immune boosting spices. You see I found out early on that chesty cough medicines for young children don't exist (only for those with dry tickly coughs), so this soup used to do the trick with helping to shift all that horrible phlegm. The warming soup and aromatic spices are also really comforting and tasty so there were never any issues with fussy eating either - Aaliyah always finished the lot. So this recipe also made it into my cookbook. For those of you who have my cookbook, this is a little reminder that it's in there and worth trying!
Snuggly Chicken and Vermicelli Soup
Chicken soup - a home remedy used to soothe cold and flu symptoms for generations. So when Aaliyah had a cold, I felt compelled to rustle up some chicken soup to make her feel better. This soup contains cold and flu fighting SuperSpices - cloves, cumin, cardamom and turmeric. It also includes immune-boosting vitamin A (from beta-carotene in carrots), vitamin C (sweetcorn), and provides starch for energy (vermicelli). A tasty way to help replace lost fluids, soothe sore throats, and make your little one feel snuggly and warm inside.
Makes 5 toddler servings. Total preparation and cooking time: 25mins. Suitable for freezing.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil½ onion - peeled, chopped
- 2 whole cloves1 whole cardamom pod - black
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 chicken breast fillet (skinless) - cut into 1cm cubes
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- Pinch of ground black pepper
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 550ml (1 pint) hot chicken or vegetable stock - baby-friendly
- 1 medium carrot - peeled, washed, diced
- 75g (3oz) tinned sweet corn (no added salt) - drained
- 25g (1oz) vermicelli
Method
Heat the oil in a pot, add the onions, cloves, cardamom and stir-fry on medium-low heat for 3-4mins until the onions are golden. Add the garlic and stir-fry for 30secs-1min followed by the chicken, turmeric, black pepper, cumin and cook for a further 5-8mins.
Pour in the stock, add the carrot, sweet corn and over the pot, break the vermicelli into small pieces with your hands and toss in. Bring to the boil and simmer (uncovered) on medium-low heat for 6-8mins until the veggies, chicken and vermicelli are tender. Serve to baby warm on its own or with soft brown bread as a more filling meal.
IMPORTANT: Remove the cloves and cardamom pod before serving to your little one.
