If your body needs just a little digestive break, this clear soup with poached chicken, inspired by chorba, or North African soup, can help ease your system back to life. The soup contains two anti-inflammatory compounds, ginger, and turmeric, while ginger has the added benefit of helping with digestion. The soup is luxurious and warming, just what you need for a reboot.

Servings: Four Bowls

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 lbs chicken thighs, bone in, skin removed

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric

• 1-inch knob of ginger, sliced

• 1 white onion, quartered

• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

• salt and pepper

• pine nuts (optional garnish)

• parsley (optional garnish)

  My kids' thoughts:

• 1 handful of rice vermicelli

• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced

PREPARATION

1 Combine coriander, cumin, paprika, and turmeric in a small bowl. 

2 Dry the chicken thighs with a paper towel and sprinkle each side generously with the spice mixture, salt, and pepper. 

3 Heat a large stock pot to medium and add the olive oil. Place the chicken thighs in the pot and let them cook for about 5 minutes until they can pull easily from the pot. Flip and cook for another 3 minutes.

4 Remove the chicken and put on a plate. Add the onions, ginger, and broth* (see note about broth) to the pot and deglaze. Bring broth to a boil and then simmer for 5 minutes to concentrate the flavors. 

5 Place the chicken back into the pot and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the chicken and strain the soup (I used a cheesecloth to get out the charred bits). Ladle soup into bowl along with one piece of chicken. Garnish with parsley and pine nuts. 

Alt-version: 

1 Either steam some carrots and put them in the bowl with noodles or you can cook them with the soup after you've strained it and separated out the carrot-free soup. 

2 Cook the rice vermicelli according to the directions. (Usually, you place them in a large bowl with hot water for 5-10 minutes or until soft. This will depend on the size of the noodle.) Drain the noodles and place in the bowl of soup. 

NOTES

• You can add 2 more cups of broth here for a total of 6 before concentrating the flavors, if your kids want more broth with their noodles, otherwise the flavor is nice and sharp at 4 cups of broth, but that may not be enough liquid for some people.

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