Harissa Chickpea and Chicken Soup

1. To prepare poached chicken, place chicken breast and aromatics (coriander seeds, bay leaf, lemon, and parsley) in a small pot. Add 2 cups cold water (should be enough to cover the chicken by about 1-inch) and bring just to a simmer over medium-high heat to the point where bubbles begin to form at the edge of the pot. Lower heat to medium-low to maintain proper temperature. Cook until chicken breast reaches an internal temperature of 165F, about 10 to 15 minutes depending on the thickness of chicken breast. When cooked, immediately remove chicken from pot, transfer to a plate or cutting board, and let cool. Once cool enough to handle, shred into bite-size pieces which will be added to the finished soup. Reserve about 2 cups of shredded chicken.

2. While the chicken is cooking, start to prepare the soup. Add olive oil to a medium stockpot over medium heat; add onion and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes until translucent.

3. Add the carrots, celery, fennel, and salt; stir and cover, continuing to cook until the vegetables start to soften (about 10 minutes).

4. When vegetables have started to soften, stir in the harissa, cumin, and coriander and cook for a minute or two until they become aromatic.

5. Gently mix in the chickpeas and vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes.

6. Add shredded chicken to the pot and mix well. If necessary, bring soup back up to temperature for a couple of minutes to warm chicken; however, be careful to not cook for too much longer to prevent overcooking vegetables.

7. Remove from heat, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

8. Divide into bowls and top with chopped mint and parsley.

Variations and Substitutions

This soup is very versatile! Make this dish vegetarian/vegan by simply omitting the chicken and it won't lack in any flavor. If you want to add some protein, toss in cubed firm tofu.

For a heartier meal, add 3 cups cooked bulgur wheat to the finished soup (or 1/2 cup cooked bulgur per individual bowl) to create more of a stew consistency. Keep in mind this will increase the carbs slightly but this is a great complement to the chickpeas and if you opt to make this dish vegetarian, the bulgur makes it a more balanced meal, adding protein and fiber. If you want to keep carbs in check, reduce your portion of soup to 1 1/2 cups when mixing with the bulgur.

This recipe calls for unsalted vegetable stock. The store-bought stock is perfectly fine, or make your own by filling a pot with water and adding leftover vegetable trim from chopping onions, garlic, celery, carrots, fennel, etc. along with parsley stems, 1 to 2 bay leaves, and black peppercorns. Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes and strain.

There are different varieties of harissa, each varying in spice intensity, so make sure you taste the one you purchase and start by adding the smaller amount in this recipe and then increase as you like. If for some reason you cannot find harissa, you can add red chili flakes or use another chili-based paste, but you may want to increase the amount of cumin and coriander and salt to make sure the flavor still comes through.

Kosher salt has less sodium by volume than table salt so cut the salt in half if using fine table salt. Keep in mind that the sodium levels can vary substantially based on the ingredients that you use. For instance, different brands of chickpeas may have different amounts of sodium even if no salt is added.

Cooking and Serving Tips

• Harissa can be purchased online but is also available in many grocery stores. Use leftover harissa as a condiment in place of ketchup or hot sauce or as in ingredient in a cooked dish such as this soup.
• If you make this soup from start to finish, it is best to start poaching the chicken slightly in advance or while the soup is cooking to save on time.
• If you want to do some prep in advance, the soup can be made entirely without the chicken the day before and then reheated with the shredded chicken before serving.
• Alternatively, the chicken can be made the day before, shredded, and stored in the refrigerator, ready to add to the soup as the last step.
• Although this recipe only calls for 1 to 2 chicken breasts, you can easily poach more and use leftover cooked chicken in a sandwich or salad.
• If you opt to make your own vegetable stock, prep all of the vegetables for the soup the day before and use any leftover trim (including peels from onions and carrots) to make your stock.