This hearty soup will warm you from the inside out.
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves cut into 1/4 inch wide strips
- 1 tablespoon butter unsalted
- 4 cloves garlic coarsely chopped
- 1 can diced tomatoes and green chile
- 1 can corn kernels drained
- 1 can light red kidney beans rinsed and drained
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon roasted cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon dried lemon peel
- Carbohydrate 193.142659902587 g
- Cholesterol 41.8457812532702 mg
- Fat 21.4528418014922 g
- Fiber 34.7561197459984 g
- Protein 42.870693300331 g
- Saturated Fat 3.77962103458884 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (3331g)
- Sodium 5169.20607301728 mg
- Sugar 158.386540156589 g
- Trans Fat 3.68093722578191 g
- Calories 1081 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat a large stock pot over medium high heat.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper.
- Add butter and oil to pot and brown chicken for 4-5 minutes. Remove to a plate.
- Add the diced onion and saute for 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic and saute for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Deglaze the pot with balsamic vinegar.
- Return chicken and any juices to the pot.
- Add remaining ingredients, bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
Ingredient quantities and line items rarely communicate the physical transformations required to build a well-constructed pot of soup. Raw chicken strips and canned legumes sitting side by side on a page reveal nothing about how proteins contract in dry heat or how starches behave when subjected to prolonged simmering. Achieving a balanced mouthfeel relies entirely on controlling moisture loss and managing the temperature of your stock pot during the initial sear.
When chicken breasts are sliced into quarter-inch strips and introduced to a preheated pot containing a mixture of butter and oil, surface moisture must evaporate before browning can occur. Letting the meat sit undisturbed for four to five minutes creates Maillard reactions on the protein surfaces, establishing savory depth that boiling liquid alone cannot replicate. Deglazing the hot metal with balsamic vinegar immediately dissolves the fond left by the chicken and onions, lifting those caramelized solids back into the cooking medium where they can season every subsequent ingredient evenly. If you rush this step by adding the liquid too early, the accumulated browned bits remain stuck to the bottom of the pot, resulting in a flat-tasting broth.
Starch breakdown presents the primary threat to texture during the thirty-minute simmer phase. Kidney beans and corn kernels contain starches that will eventually dissolve into the chicken broth if subjected to aggressive boiling, turning a clear, robust soup into a thick, pasty stew. Maintaining a gentle simmer rather than a rolling boil prevents the bean skins from bursting prematurely while still allowing the roasted cumin, chili powder, and dried lemon peel to hydrate and infuse the liquid. Leftovers stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days often improve in flavor as the aromatics fully penetrate the chicken fibers, though the beans may soften further over time.
