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Roasted Lemon Chicken Soup

March 13, 2020 by Joy the Baker 19 Comments

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One of my favorite Mardi Gras costumes this year was a woman with a jacket embroidered with the message” I’m ok! You’re ok!”  It felt both celebratory and comforting and like a mini pep-talk to all of us.  

I’m ok! You’re ok! 

Sure, it may not always be true. What’s always true is that I’m more ok when you’re ok – and we all have the blessed work of taking care of one another.  That feels especially true this week and these days.  Though… taking care of each other looks more like staying away from each other and that’s a hard thing to grapple with.  

I’ve been looking for calm and comfort all week so my offering today is warm and broth-y.  It could have just as easily been melty and chocolate so certainly feel free to choose what feels best for you. 

If soup resonates with you this weekend, please also consider this silky smooth Carrot Coconut Red Curry or deeply hearty Smoky Black Bean Soup. We deserve options.  

This soup utilizes the Whole Roasted Meyer Lemons we talked about earlier this week.  Good ideas surround us. Please do. 

Here’s what you’ll need for this soup: 

• Onions, chopped. Garlic, chopped.  Carrots, peeled and diced. Celery, sliced.  The fundamentals of soup, really. 

• Chicken thighs (boneless, skinless) because I always use this cut of chicken. Go for chicken breast if you prefer.  

• Peeled and finely diced fresh ginger, for spice and health. 

• Olive oil and butter.

• Chicken stock.  I had a lucky stash of homemade stock in the freezer, otherwise this is my favorite for ease and flavor. 

• Roasted lemons, fresh thyme, fresh dill, and fresh parsley.  Bright flavors, we deserve it. 



Start by warming the oil and butter in a heavy-bottom pot.  Add the chicken when the fat is hot enough to sizzle the chicken.  

Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper.  

Allow the chicken to sear on both sides until golden brown on each.  The pieces of chicken might not be cooked all the way through – that’s ok! Get it mostly cooked and well-browned.  Remove the chicken from the pan and place it on a plate.  

In the same pot the chicken was cooked in, toss the onions, garlic, ginger, carrots, and celery.  All the veggies.

We’ll cook everything until lightly softened.  

The moisture from the vegetables will help scrape any of the chicken bits off the bottom of the pan.  That’s great- the more flavor bits the better. 

The carrots will soften just slightly. The onions will cook to translucent. The celery will soften a bit. The whole mixture will be delightfully fragrant.  

Add fresh thyme leaves, and a bit of dill and parsley if you’d like.  Just hand tear the herbs.  It’s the easy way. 

Add the cooked chicken after you’ve run a knife through it to bite-size pieces. 



And our glorious roasted lemons – add two whole lemons to the mix.  The flesh will steep into the soup. The oils from the skin will seep into the broth.  It adds a big bright richness to the pot of soup. 

Chicken stock and a bay leaf and a good long simmer. The chicken will cook through while the vegetables soften. It’s all very good news for our bellies and our souls. 

While the soup simmers, I boiled a cup of Israeli couscous until soft and drained.  Any kind of pasta you’d like will do.  I boiled it separately so it doesn’t overcook or mush in the soup – especially since I’m going to eat it for several days and freeze the leftovers. 

Ladle generously into bowls, top with couscous, and tear herbs over top.  

Remove the lemon and any seeds you might hunt down in the soup.  Remove the bay leaf too.  Discard but thank them for their flavor and service.  

This soup freezes well. A little gift of comfort to our future selves.  

I’m ok! You’re ok!  

Photos with my friend Jon Melendez. 

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Roasted Lemon Chicken Soup

  • Prep Time: 0 hours
  • Cook Time: 0 hours
  • Total Time: 0 hours
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
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Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 tablespoons olive olive
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 heaping cup)
  • 3/4 cup peeled and chopped carrots
  • 3/4 cup chopped celery
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon peeled and finely grated ginger
  • 2 whole roasted lemons
  • 1 lay leaf
  • 7 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 cup Israeli couscous, boiled until soft and drained
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh herbs like parsley and dill

Instructions

  1. In a large, heavy-bottom pot heat olive oil and butter. Once hot, add the chicken thighs and season generously with salt and pepper. Flip the chicken thighs, allowing the brown to golden on both sides.
  2. Once golden, remove the chicken thighs onto a plate and set aside. (It’s ok if the thighs aren’t cooked completely through as they’ll cook again in the stock.)
  3. Add the onions, carrots, and celery to the pan. Allow to cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are lightly softened and the onions start to become translucent, about 5 minutes.
  4. Add the garlic and ginger and stir for 2 minutes more.
  5. Coarsely dice the resting chicken and place back in the pot. Add the whole roasted lemons and bay leaf. Add the chicken broth. Bring the soup to a simmer and allow to simmer uncovered until the chicken is cooked through and vegetables are softened, about 25 minutes.
  6. While the soup simmers, boil and drain the Israeli couscous. Set aside.
  7. To serve, ladle soup into bowls and top with couscous, torn fresh parsley and torn fresh dill.
  8. Soup will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and also freezes quite well for your future self.

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Filed Under: Dinner, Recipes, Savory

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Reader Interactions

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Questions
  1. Lauren

    April 24, 2022 at 1:32 pm

    Hi Joy! Will roasting regular lemons work? My neighborhood grocery store doesn’t sell Meyer lemons :(

    Reply
    • Joy the Baker - Founder

      May 2, 2022 at 10:19 am

      Yes, absolutely!

      Reply
  2. Rebecca

    June 26, 2020 at 6:43 am

    I made this a week ago, and it is now my favorite chicken soup! Roasting the lemons adds extra depth to this soup, while also brightening it up. Absolutely delicious! Definitely will be making this again!

    Reply
  3. Samantha

    March 30, 2020 at 7:38 am

    I’m not chicken biggest fan, but I’ll give it a go!

    Reply
  4. Laura

    March 26, 2020 at 5:43 am

    So there are no lemons in grocery stores near me now, I have lemon juice…. not the same but how could I substitute with juice here?

    Reply
  5. Tayne

    March 20, 2020 at 8:25 pm

    This recipe sounds delicious! I will make it once we can find chicken in the store again.

    Reply
  6. Laura

    March 17, 2020 at 9:09 am

    I made this last night and it was divine. My husband, who rarely has nice things to say about chicken soup, asked if we could put this in our regular rotation. Thanks for another gem of a recipe, Joy!

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      March 18, 2020 at 12:54 pm

      That’s a high compliment!

      Reply
  7. Deborah Butler

    March 16, 2020 at 4:12 am

    I’ll prepare his special soup minus the couscous which is a carbohydrate and is unacceptable on my diet. I’m in it for the lemons!

    Reply
  8. Rena

    March 15, 2020 at 3:27 am

    I would prepare it without chicken (as I don’t like it). But the mix sounds absolutely delicious!
    xx from Bavaria/Germany, Rena
    http://www.dressedwithsoul.com

    Reply
  9. Laura Pearse

    March 13, 2020 at 10:54 pm

    How do you roast lemons? Do you cut them in half or leave them whole?

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      March 17, 2020 at 7:36 am

      There’s a whole post about roasting lemons linked in the post.

      Reply
  10. Helen

    March 13, 2020 at 8:10 pm

    How do you oven roast the lemons please?

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      March 17, 2020 at 7:36 am

      There’s a whole post about roasting lemons linked in the post.

      Reply
  11. angela

    March 13, 2020 at 7:43 pm

    hi Joy, i love chicken soup!!! how glorious this sounds with roasted lemon. how do you recommend i roast the lemon.. either right on the cooktop (like i do with tortillas? haha) or in the oven?

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      March 17, 2020 at 7:36 am

      I think you’ll love this chicken soup! There’s a whole post about roasting lemons linked in the post

      Reply
  12. Lynn

    March 13, 2020 at 10:30 am

    “I’m OK, you’re Ok” quote and appraoch to others comes from the 1970’s book, Transactional Analysis.

    Reply
  13. Janelle

    March 13, 2020 at 8:07 am

    This just looks divine, Exactly what we need to comfort ourselves. Thanks Joy!

    Reply
  14. Sylvia Rocha

    March 13, 2020 at 5:55 am

    This sounds like heaven in a bowl. Beautiful and clean, thanks you!

    Reply

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