Day 4: Moroccan Chicken Soup w/ Chickpeas, Kale & Garam Masala

I recently had the Moroccan Chicken Soup at Hale & Hearty Soups in NYC (my favorite takeout soup shop, everything is so good).

It was one of the best soups I had ever tried, being very complex with hints of cinnamon, cloves, cumin, raisins (in soup?), chickpeas, carrots, potatoes................and shredded chicken in the broth. YUM.

I guess the spices gave it the "Moroccan" title?

I was going to recreate a version of this spicy soup at home, using Garam Masala, an Indian blend of cinnamon, curry, cloves and cardamom.

I added kale for some green color, and used my homemade chicken stock, which is the key to making good soup.
This is a great way to use up leftover roasted chicken from the night before.

This was delicious and is a great detox lunch or dinner for our week of healthy eating.

Chicken Soup w/ Chickpeas, Kale & Garam Masala: (makes 4 servings)

2 1/2 cups of homemade chicken stock
1 small can of diced tomatoes
1 carrot, peeled and sliced into rounds
1 small onion, diced
1 tbsp butter
olive oil
1 small can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup of cooked leftover chicken, shredded
1 tsp of Garam Masala (here is a recipe to make your own blend at home)
1 tsp of ground cumin (unless the Garam Masala has cumin in the mixture)
1 bunch of greens, such as kale, spinach or Swiss chard, torn into pieces

In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil and butter and add the carrots and onions and saute about 2 minutes.

Add the chicken stock, tomatoes and all the other ingredients, including the kale (if using spinach or chard, then add at the last 5 minutes of cooking, because they cook up fast).

Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer about 30 minutes, until carrots are soft and tomatoes are broken up.

Delicious.

Enjoy.