Spicy chicken and bean soup

July 16, 2009

If the holidaying school kids in the family are reaching the “We’re bored” stage, set them to work in the kitchen preparing their own lunch.

It’s surprising how a handful of simple ingredients can be turned into a tasty nourishing bowl of soup fairly quickly. We don’t always have time to pre-soak dried beans and give them a long slow simmer in the soup pot. That’s why it’s a good idea to keep a few of cans of assorted beans, chickpeas and lentils in the pantry to speed up soup production.

If you have a food processor with grating and slicing blades, you can soon make quick work of the vegetable preparation, too.

While this soup is cooking, the kids could whip up a batch of savoury muffins or scones to serve with it.

Spicy chicken and bean soup

1 skinless chicken breast
1 can four bean mix
1 small leek, finely sliced
2 sticks celery, halved lengthwise then sliced
2 carrots, grated
1 parsnip, grated
4 silverbeet leaves, shredded
2 litres chicken stock or water
1/2 cup tomato paste
2 teaspoons pepper flakes
1 teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
salt

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