One final soup recipe of the day. The Navy Bean and Ham Soup is for lunches, and this golden chicken millet soup is for dinners. I was going to make just plain old chicken alphabet soup, which the girls really love, but I've been craving millet lately and also wanted a soup that I could purée. After all, what a waste of alphabet letters if they're just going to be turned into mush. Again, I didn't want to use kale and end up with an unappetaizing color and I had the other half of the cabbage to use from the bean soup anyway.
I didn't use my Instant Pot for the whole thing since mine is only 5 quart capacity and I was also simultaneously using it for the navy bean soup, but I did use it to poach the chicken. Normally I roast chicken I use in soup, but because of that tenderness requirement for ultimate ediblity, I decided to poach. I also could then use the poaching liquor to supplement the stock. I normally try to use a bit less meat in my soups but I used three full split breasts this time (for about 8-12 servings to be fair) to make sure this was hearty enough to keep the 9 year old fully sustained. Feel free to reduce the amount of chicken to suit your preferences and what you've got on hand.
The golden part of the soup comes from the turmeric. I like its slightly astringent flavor and the gorgeous color it imparts.
There is nothing fancy about this soup or the recipe. In fact, the vegetable base is basically identical to the Navy Bean and Ham Soup; I processed all of them together and split them among my pots. I love that with the same base, I ended up with two totally different soups. I write this one down so I can remember it for another day!
INGREDIENTS
3 large bone-in chicken breasts
2 TBPS olive oil
1 large onion
2-4 ribs celery
2-4 carrots
2-3 cloves garlic
2 tsp turmeric
1 c millet, rinsed and drained
6 c unsalted chicken stock plus poaching liquor
2-3 c water
2 tsp kosher salt
DIRECTIONS
I didn't use my Instant Pot for the whole thing since mine is only 5 quart capacity and I was also simultaneously using it for the navy bean soup, but I did use it to poach the chicken. Normally I roast chicken I use in soup, but because of that tenderness requirement for ultimate ediblity, I decided to poach. I also could then use the poaching liquor to supplement the stock. I normally try to use a bit less meat in my soups but I used three full split breasts this time (for about 8-12 servings to be fair) to make sure this was hearty enough to keep the 9 year old fully sustained. Feel free to reduce the amount of chicken to suit your preferences and what you've got on hand.
The golden part of the soup comes from the turmeric. I like its slightly astringent flavor and the gorgeous color it imparts.
There is nothing fancy about this soup or the recipe. In fact, the vegetable base is basically identical to the Navy Bean and Ham Soup; I processed all of them together and split them among my pots. I love that with the same base, I ended up with two totally different soups. I write this one down so I can remember it for another day!
INGREDIENTS
3 large bone-in chicken breasts
2 TBPS olive oil
1 large onion
2-4 ribs celery
2-4 carrots
2-3 cloves garlic
2 tsp turmeric
1 c millet, rinsed and drained
6 c unsalted chicken stock plus poaching liquor
2-3 c water
2 tsp kosher salt
DIRECTIONS
- Place the chicken breasts in the insert of the Instant Pot with 2-3 cups of water. I think my results would have been even softer had I mostly covered the chicken. I also removed the skin since it would just have been a flabby mess after poaching. Instead I plan to roast it up for as a guilty pleasure snack later
- Close the lid and choose the Meat mode for 10 minutes at high pressure
- Let the pressure lower naturally after the cooking time is over but you can turn off Keep Warm
- Remove the chicken from the liquid and shred. You can save the bones for stock though you'll want to be sure to mix with raw bones or else your stock might taste tired. Set chickens aside
- Process the vegetables very finely in the food processor
- Turn the heat to medium-high in a large Dutch oven and heat the oil
- Add the vegetables. I start with the onion and let that go on its own for a while then add the rest as I process them
- Once the vegetables are soft, add the turmeric and stir to coat and bloom a bit
- Add the washed millet and the stock, water and salt
- Bring to a boil, then simmer 15-20 minutes until the millet is soft
- Add the srhredded chicken and continue to cook for a little bit to meld the flavors (or just keep it warm until you're ready to eat)
- If desired, purée the soup and adjust for seasoning. As with the bean soup, a splash of vinegar is welcome to brighten the flavor
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