Wholesome and delicious with a rustic charm, this chicken potato soup is all you need to make it through a chilly day !
Let me start by saying that this chicken potato soup is all my grandfather. In the most rustic form, just like the rustic chicken stew over the creamy polenta, this meal has the magical powers to comfort and nourish both body and soul.
I remember cold days running around the village with other kids, and smelling this chicken potato dinner coming to life from 3 blocks away. It was what it took to get this little rascal home as fast as she could, little feet kicking my behind all the way to the kitchen.
Like a good behaving little girl that I was ( not) I would grab a seat on the distressed wooden bench against the wall, waiting like a puppy for a bowl of this soup. And i would test myself to see just how spicy I can handle it. I’d start with one slice of red pepper on top, then two and three, and now I want my own personal chile pepper.
Usually made using an entire chicken cut into pieces, I took the liberty to go for boneless skinless chicken thighs, you of course can use whatever you like. It is a peasant dish that’s meant to really take care of your hungry belly and also honor your body with the wholesome nutrition it craves.
I used a large onion as the base, but I would have definitely went for a leek If i had it in the fridge. I have a thing for them lately, a serious thing. A lot of the magic here comes from the different layers of flavor we add with each ingredient. Bell peppers, red, green or yellow, indispensable in this chicken potato soup. I once left it out and for an entire week after that i kept asking myself what i had missed. True story kids !
A good Spanish paprika is also essential to tie in with the bell pepper flavors and also makes for a beautiful colorful soup. And what is more comforting than chicken and potatoes right ? The classic way to a human’s heart I’d dare say.
One more thing: don’t be stingy with the fresh herbs at the end, you need that pop of freshness after the slow cooking process. And go for your favorite herbs, and If you must choose just one I’d say 100 % Italian Parsley !
3 Reasons to make this rustic chicken potato soup today :
#1 The rustic soul and flavors of this soup will transport you down memory lane to a moment in time when wholesome food was the glue that brought people together at the dinner table. No TV, just conversation ! Try that tonight and report back !
#2 Wholesome nutrition delivered straight to your mouth, spoon by spoon !
#3 Make it because it is easy and it feeds an entire family of six, not to mention it makes fantastic leftovers, actually it is even better the second day.
Besides, I’m pretty confident this will become your favorite chicken potato soup, I just know it deep inside ~ Florentina Xo’s
- 2 1/2 lb chicken thighs
- 6 inch golden potatoes diced into 1 cubes
- 1 large onion diced or 1 leek
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large carrot sliced
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 1 c diced tomatoes fresh
- 6 sprigs thyme
- 2 leaves bay
- 5 sprigs Italian parsley
- 1 red chile pepper thinly sliced
- 1/4 c fresh chives snipped
- 1/3 c Italian parsley roughly chopped
- 1/4 c fresh dill
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 5 tbsp sweet Spanish paprika
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt + more to taste
- 1/3 c extra virgin olive oil
- Sour cream for garnish optional
- In a large heavy bottom stock pot or dutch oven add a lug of olive oil on medium flame. Sauce the diced onion in the oil until translucent.
- Add half of the bell pepper, the carrot and the garlic together with a pinch of sea salt and saute for a few more minutes. Add the Spanish paprika and stir to combine well with all the vegetables.
- Add the chicken thighs to the pot and sprinkle with the sea salt. Toss to coat well in the paprika infused oil. Add the peppercorns, bay leaves, parsley and thyme sprigs and cover with water by 3 inches.
- Bring to a simmer and cook covered with a tight lid for 45 minutes on medium low flame.
- After 45 minutes and once the chicken is tender add the remaining bell pepper and the diced golden potatoes to the soup. Simmer for about 15 minutes until al dente. Adjust seasonings to your taste with sea salt and remove from flame. Stir in the diced tomatoes and serve the chicken potato soup sprinkled with the fresh thyme, dill, chives and parsley, or your favorite fresh herbs, and a few slices of red chile pepper to taste. Drizzle with a light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
- Serve crusty bread and sour cream on the side If desired.
Ciao! This looks very tasty. I hope to try it soon. A few things I noticed about the recipe…. 1. It looks like your chicken thighs are cut into pieces but it doesn’t say anything in ingredient list, 2. You reference bay leaves in instructions but not listed in ingredient list, 3. You have chives in ingredient list but no mention in instructions, 4. Red chile pepper slices in instructions but not on ingredient list. I know I would throw all of this in but someone else might get confused, especially if they’re shopping from the list. I really don’t mean to be nitpicky; just thought it might be helpful. Again, it looks beautifully delicious. Ciao!
Thanks Freeda. The chicken thighs are not cut into pieces, they just fall apart fork tender after cooking slowly for about 1 hour. I added the bay leaves to the ingredient list (great call). The chives are mentioned together with all the fresh herbs at the end, but of course you can use whatever herbs you like. The red chile pepper slices are listed as a red chile pepper -sliced. Phew, I think we are all on point now, and everyone will have a fabulous time making this chicken and potato soup. Have a great rest of the week ~ Florentina
Hi again. I just wanted to tell you that I made the soup yesterday and we all really enjoyed it. Leftovers for dinner tonight. The only thing I had to adjust was the sweet spanish paprika. I wasn’t able to find that anywhere so I just used some Hungarian sweet and hot paprikas that I had. Nice recipe. Thanks!
I’m so glad to hear ! Hungarian paprika works nice as well, I always work with whatever I have in my pantry.I prefer Spanish paprika in this particular potato soup because of the distinctive subtle flavor, but the lack of it is not gonna hold me back from making this lol
A beautiful, heart-warming stew! Yes, this could definitely heal what ails you, and rally up any little ones from blocks away. Lovely.
Oh My God is what I have to say about this potato soup. I asked my wife to make a double batch to have for lunches all week long. We used an entire chicken with bones and all and it was incredible with a little sour cream on top.
Yes that is how grandpa used to make it, every part of the chicken went in there. I know the bones also add a lot of flavor and nutrition to the soup.
So many soups are better the second day, right? Yours looks wonderful!
Fresh herbs make such a difference in any recipe! This looks fantastic!
That is one stick-to-your-ribs kind of comfort soup! Looks amazing 😀
I love all the flavors in there! Looks so comforting!
There’s something *so* amazing about homemade soup. This would be perfect comfort food in cooler weather!
This soup looks SO incredibly flavorful! I need to try it!!