Jamaican Chicken Soup Recipe
Servings: 8 people
Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs chicken breast (or your favorite parts)
- 3 quarts broth (can use part water if you don't have enough on hand)
- 1 large kabocha squash
- 1 small butternut squash
- 4 stalks celery
- 1-2 medium onions
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/4 tsp powdered)
- 1 tsp pimento/allspice seeds (1/4 tsp dried)
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- salt and pepper to taste (we typically use 1-2 whole scotch bonnets, we like spicy!)
Any combination of the following
- Boniato potatoes
- Irish potatoes
- Yellow yam
- Dashine
- Dumplings
- Ripe plantains
- Green bananas
- Carrots
- Chayote squash
Instructions
- Add broth to a large stockpot that hold approx 6 quarts or more if you
are making the recipe as-is. and bring to a boil. Add pimento seeds,
chicken and uncooked pumpkin/squash at this point. - Reduce heat and let simmer for about 30 minutes, until chicken is mostly cooked. To make
things easier, like I do, you can bake the squash whole until it is tender prior to making the soup, then you would just scoop the flesh out and add to the soup at a later point. - Remove chicken from pot, and once cooled enough to handle, shred if desired.
- Peel and cut up anything you’d like to add to the soup, such as onions,
potatoes, yams, plantains and carrots. Make dumplings if you are adding
them in. - Scoop pimento seeds out of the soup and add in onions, celery, yams and potatoes. Let cook about 15 minutes.
- Remove the celery if you wish and add in chicken, plantains, scotch bonnet, carrots and dumplings. Let cook another 15 minutes.
- Add spices (thyme, garlic, salt, powdered pepper, and powdered allspice
if you did not use pimento berries) to taste. - Let simmer a short while until it smells and tastes awesome and additions are cooked to your
preference. - Serve with additional fats such as butter or tallow for extra
nourishment!Don’t forget to have a side with fermented vegetables
first!