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If there’s three things Nick loves when it comes to food, it’s:

  • a really flavorful curry,
  • a classic hearty chicken soup,
  • and quite literally ANYTHING with Harissa!

Harissa is a hot chili pepper paste that originated in Northwest Africa, and is a common condiment found especially in Algerian, Moroccan, and Tunisian cuisines. The main ingredients are roasted red peppers, Baklouti peppers (although you can use a variety of different chiles as a sub to pump up the heat), along with spices and herbs such as garlic, caraway, coriander, cumin, and more. In order to make this paste, you would traditionally macerate or blend all fresh herbs and ingredients in a food processor or blender with olive oil, storing it in the fridge to use in all sorts of recipes for heat and flavor.

While Nick is a huge fan of this ingredient in his cooking, he also loves a quick and convenient way to capture the same flavor and essence in his staple recipes at a moment’s notice, so he’s been experimenting with Frontier Co-Op’s Harissa dry seasoning blend. As a result of his experimentation, along with his love for a good curry like I mentioned earlier, this super-flavorful chicken stew was born, with a mix of North African and South Asian flavors that is anything but your average soup!

Along with flavor, this soup is also packed with fiber and veggies, as he chose to forgo the usual celery and carrots for acorn and butternut squash instead. This makes it super creamy, hearty, and satiating, while complementing the warming nature of curry-based dishes (which actually help to boost digestive fire/Qi!)

Similar to Nick’s Breakfast Soup, the squashes featured in this recipe are key for the food-as-medicine aspect. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), yellow and orange root veggies (which are the color associated with the Spleen/Stomach meridian) actually help to improve our microbiome and digestion over time the more you consume them. This soup also features warming, digestion strengthening herbs and spices (like the coriander and cumin seeds found in the Harissa seasoning) that help to drain excessive “dampness” from the gut: think bloating, gas, gut dysbiosis and sluggishness of body and mind.

Overall, this soup is nourishing to the body and soul, microbiome-friendly, digestion-strengthening and straight up delicious. We hope you love Nick’s latest take on a soup staple, and don’t forget to try his classic Grandma Style Chicken Soup and Perfect-Every-Time White Rice as well!

Nick's Coconut Curry Chicken Soup

PREP TIME
30 mins
COOK TIME
45 mins
TOTAL TIME
75 mins
SERVES

Ingredients

  • 3lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
  • 1 butternut squash
  • 1 acorn squash
  • 1 medium yellow onion
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 1 knob ginger
  • 1 tbsp Fronteire Harissa Seasoning
  • 1 tbsp Curry Powder
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 quart chicken broth
  • 2 cans light coconut milk
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

Directions

  1. Prep your chicken, pat dry, and toss into a mixing bowl.
  2. Add your harissa seasoning, curry powder, salt, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the bowl and mix thoroughly making sure each piece of chicken is evenly seasoned. Cover and let marinate for at least 20 minutes.
  3. While the chicken marinates, get your vegetables ready: peel squash, take out the seeds and cut into ½ inch cubes. Dice onions, mince the garlic, and grate the ginger.
  4. In a heavy Dutch oven or large soup pot with a lid gently heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Once oil is up to a nice temp for sautéing, toss in chicken and cook until browned. Flip the chicken and brown on other side. Remove chicken and set aside. (Note: chicken should be fully cooked before removing)
  5. Add the onion and garlic into the Dutch oven and sauté. Using a wooden spoon, mix the onion and garlic around to remove any chicken that was left over on the bottom of the pan.
  6. Add grated ginger and sauté along with onion and garlic for 1-2 minutes.
  7. Add in 2 cans of coconut milk and chicken broth into the Dutch and bring to a boil.
  8. dd in squash and reduce heat to medium. Cover Dutch oven with lid and let simmer for 20-25 minutes.
  9. While the squash cooks, take the chicken that was set aside earlier and chop into desired chunks or slices and toss into the Dutch oven.
  10. Cook until squash is tender and flavors are well combined. Serve and enjoy!

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