Absolute Best Chicken Soup

Tabasco Saucy's Note:

This is a family recipe I stumbled upon through marriage. It is a Latin-style chicken soup and it is the best I have tasted. Basically, my mother-in-law makes this soup with a few founding ingredients and then throws in whatevers available. Its always good, but I've narrowed it down for myself and you to the best ingredients to use. This recipe is great for serving to a large amount of people. *Note: You use a whole (8-piece cut) chicken if you want to serve 6-8, but if you are serving more than 6, for the purposes of the stock, use only split leg quarters. The recipe is best when fresh ingredients are used, especially cilantro. Don't even bother with the recipe if you don't have fresh cilantro. After the chicken is fully cooked, you can try to fish it out and separate the meat from the bones, but I don't usually bother with it.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 7 quarts water
• 1 whole chicken , 8-piece cut
• 8 chicken bouillon cubes
• 1 cup fresh cilantro , chopped
• ½ cup fresh mint leaves , chopped
• 1 large onion , chopped
• 1 green bell pepper , chopped
• 5 garlic cloves , chopped
• 2 seville oranges , each cut in quarters and seeded
• 5 small red potatoes , quartered
• 5 stalks yucca root
• 4 ears corn , cut in halves
• 3 plantains , peeled and quartered
• 2 tomatoes , cut

Directions:

1. Fill a 12 quart pot a little more than halfway and bring water to a boil.
2. Add the chicken, bouillon cubes, half of the garlic, and only 1/4 cup of the cilantro, mint, onion, and bell pepper.
3. Squeeze the juice of 4 orange slices into the pot.
4. Allow the chicken to cook for one hour, stirring occasionally.
5. After one hour, add the potatoes, yucca, another quarter cup of cilantro, and the rest of the garlic. Stir in the ingredients and let boil for 15 minutes.
6. Add the corn, plantains, tomatoes, and the rest of the cilantro, mint, onions, and peppers. Squeeze the juice of the 4 remaining orange slices into the pot and stir the soup.
7. Boil the soup 20 to 30 minutes more or until the potatoes and corn are cooked thoroughly, stirring occasionally.

Reviews

[Chef #928625]

This is excellent!it's similar in ingredients to a lot of Latin soups,but the mint makes it unique.I didn't have seville oranges so I had to use sweet orange and lime juice,but it still turned out great.I also doubled the mint,since most of the flavor seemed to boil away with the broth.I'll definitely be making this again.