Chicken Leek Soup

No, before you ask, I am not sick (but I do have a bowl of this reserved in the freezer, just in case).

Whenever I roast chicken, it always makes about four times as much chicken as Chad and I could reasonably eat. So when that happens, I like to shred the leftovers, to use in another dish later on -- it works for risotto, soup, or even just heated in pasta sauce for some added protein in a quick, easy dinner.

This is actually a fairly traditional chicken soup recipe, although I swapped the usual celery for leek to give it a slightly more interesting flavor. Sometimes I wonder why I spend a decent amount of time making soup that looks relatively similar to what you get from opening a can, but I'd always rather eat the version where I know exactly what foods are used to make it, and I can both recognize and pronounce all its ingredients. Sounds like a simple thing, but it's frightening how much food we all eat that don't meet either of those qualifications.

So the next time you feel like a good, healthy bowl of chicken soup, whether you're feeling under the weather or perfectly healthy, take an extra half hour, and make this one.

Chicken Leek Soup

INGREDIENTS

10 cups chicken stock

2 large carrots, diced

1/4 cup olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 large onion, diced

1 tsp smoked paprika

Cracked pepper, to taste

2 large leeks, white parts only, diced

1 box spiral-shaped pasta (8 ounces)

3 cups roasted chicken, white meat only, shredded

DIRECTIONS

Briefly saute garlic in olive oil until fragrant. Add the chicken stock, and bring it to a boil. Add the carrots, onion, garlic and leek and boil for 10 minutes.  Taste and salt if necessary.  Add the pasta and chicken, and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the pasta is cooked. Allow to cool slightly, and serve.