Hearty Chicken & Grilled Corn Soup

Photo: Nika Phelps

Ingredients

1 medium sized onion

4 celery stalks

3 carrots

1 1/2 pounds , chicken thighs (bone in)

2 corn ears, cleaned and husked

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, smashed& peeled

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

32 ounces (2 lbs) low sodium chicken broth

3 cups water

Handful of cilantro (with stems)

Preparation

To make the broth:

In a large pot over high heat, add the garlic cloves and 2 tbsp olive oil. When the oil is sizzling, add the chicken thighs (skin down) and cook for 5 minutes. Turn the thighs over and cook for 3 minutes. Add water, bay leaf, and 2 cups chicken broth. Bring to boil then add 1 carrot (roughly chopped), 1 celery stalk (roughly chopped), and 1/2 an onion (cut in 1/2). Simmer for 30 minutes.

While the broth is cooking, cut what's left of your celery stalks and carrots into bite size. Finely diced what's left of the onion. Reserve all ingredients in a bowl. Rinse cilantro thoroughly and pick the leaves off the stems.

This step is optional but I highly recommend it if you love cilantro as much as I do*

Take the cilantro stems and chop finely. Add to the bowl of veggies.

In a pan over high heat, add corn ears and grill until the corn is slightly charred. Remove the corn from the cob by cutting the tips off (so you can lay it flat on a cutting board). Stand the cob vertically and with a knife, cut downwards row by row until all kernels are removed. Put aside.

In a large pan over high heat add 1 tbsp oil. Add veggies and cook for 5 minutes. Add 1/2 tsp salt, add corn and cook for 2 minutes. Turn the heat off and put aside.

When the broth is done, remove chicken thighs and put them on a plate to cool. Throw away all the vegetables in the broth, including the bay leaf. Skim the excess fat off the top with a spoon.

When the chicken has cooled off, remove the bones and skin, and shred it with your fingers (it's much easier this way). Set aside in a bowl.

Add what's left of the chicken broth to the just cooked broth. Bring to boil and add the cooked veggies. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add the cayenne pepper, shredded chicken and simmer for another 10 minutes. Season with salt & pepper, garnish with cilantro leaves and serve.