Rustic Chicken Oat Soup

Wait!! Before you screw up your nose at the thought of an oat soup just take the time to read the recipe!  This soup is comforting to the soul as well as nourishing to the body. 

It is a great meal if you are feeling under the weather, beneficial for your supply if you are a lactating mama or simply if it is cold outside and you feel like something thick, smooth and silky that warms you from the inside out. 

Inspired by the Trim Healthy Mamas this recipe is so easy to make even on a busy weeknight.  The oats, sweet potato and kale provide a great source of healthy Carbohydrate as well as fibre, protein, Copper, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Folate, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus and a very good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Potassium, Copper, Selenium and Manganese. Seriously! What more can you ask for in a comfort food!!

Ingredients

2tbs olive oil 1 onion, diced 2 garlic cloves, minced 5 celery stalks, diced 1 large sweet potato, diced 2 chicken breasts, diced 2L chicken stock 500ml water 1.5 cups traditional oats salt and pepper to taste 4 cups / 4 stalks kale, shredded

Method

Saute the onion, garlic, celery and sweet potato in the olive oil for about 5 minutes. 

Add the chicken breast and brown softly. 

Add the chicken stock, water, oats and seasoning to taste.  Simmer for about 20 minutes. 

Once the oats are plump and the veggies are cooked through, add the kale and allow to simmer for a further 5-10 minutes or until the kale is wilted and soft.   Enjoy!

Notes from Gracious Goodness :

This makes a nice big pot of soup which is perfect because it keeps really well in the fridge for a few days.  Personally I think the flavour and texture of the soup actually improves overnight making it perfect for a hot lunch option.

Feel free to halve the recipe if you want a smaller portion.

When the soup is cold it will look quite thick, resist the temptation to add more water until you have heated it a bit.  If it remains thick after reheating then by all means add a small amount of water or chicken stock to achieve your desired consistency.

If you have some cooked chicken in the fridge you can substitute the chicken breast with about 2-3 cups diced cooked chicken meat.  Add the cooked chicken with the oats rather than at the beginning of the recipe.  This will stop it overcooking or shredding too much as the soup simmers. 

If you don’t have any chicken, then omit the meat entirely!  The chicken stock adds plenty of flavour without the addition of meat if you prefer.