Golden Glow Soup Recipe

A black bowl full of golden glow soup. The soup is bright orange from the sweet potatoes and turmeric and very creamy. It is full of cooked rice, shredded chicken, and kale.

5 from 5 votes

Golden Glow soup, packed with nourishing bone broth, sweet potatoes, carrots, ginger, turmeric, lemon, and kale. Rice and chicken thighs round it up to a hearty and satisfying meal.

Prep Time15

Cook Time45

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 513kcal

Author: Jana Dziak

Equipment

Large Stock Poy
Medium Pot with lid
Immersion blender or blender

Ingredients

4 Chicken Thighs skin on or off, bone in or boneless.
2 Large Carrots roughly chopped
2 Large Onions roughly chopped
2 Stalks Celery roughly chopped
3 Large Sweet Potatoes roughly chopped
2 Large Sweet Peppers yellow, orange, or red
1.5 Quarts Bone broth or Stock chicken, beef, or vegetable
4 Cloves Garlic minced
3 Cups Kale (or spinach) shredded into ribbons, packed
1 Lemon (or lime) juiced and zested
2 teaspoons turmeric or 1 fresh root
1 2 inch piece of fresh ginger finely chopped
2 Cups Basmati Rice
2 tablespoons Olive Oil or lard — or fat/oil of choice
2 tablespoons Parsley optional, minced
½ teaspoons Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Salt

Instructions

Pat chicken thighs dry and salt and pepper them. In a large stock pot on medium heat, brown the chicken evenly on both sides in some fat. Do not crowd the chicken, or it will steam and not brown. Set aside.
As the chicken is browning, take the basmati rice and let it soak in a bowl of cold water. Set aside and move on with your recipe. Soaking basmati rice in cool water for 20 minutes and then thoroughly rinsing it is best.
In the same pot that the chicken was browned in, on medium-low heat, add onion, celery, peppers, and carrot in the remaining fat, adding more fat/oil as necessary, scraping up any brown bits of fond that form in the pot.
Let the vegetables cook until soft and light golden brown. Do not let them burn. If they start to stick, add a splash of water or stock and scrape up the fond that forms on the bottom — it is full of flavor.
Add the garlic, ginger, and turmeric and stir until fragrant (about 60 seconds).
Add the sweet potato, the bone broth/stock, and the browned chicken thighs. Add the salt and pepper.
Cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes. As the covered soup simmers, cook the rice that has been soaking. See the basmati rice cooking instructions below the soup instructions.
After 30 minutes of simmering, uncover the soup and remove the chicken thighs. Set them aside and shred them as you please into small, bite-sized chunks.
Blend the remaining soup liquid with an immersion blender until it is smooth and creamy. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust.
Add the shredded chicken back into the pot.
Add the finely shredded kale, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Stir and simmer on low for another two minutes. The kale will turn bright green. Taste for salt and pepper again, and adjust as needed.
Add cooked rice into bowls and then ladle the soup on top of the rice.
Garnish with fresh parsley and a drizzle of olive oil, and serve immediately with rustic crusty bread or just on its own.
A big dollop of sour cream is also lovely to add to each individual bowl right before serving.

Cooking Basmati Rice

Drain the soaked basmati rice into a colander and then rinse it thoroughly under cool running water until the water runs clear.
Add the basmati rice and 4 cups of cold water to a medium pot with a lid. Turn the heat to high.
Once the water starts to boil, immediately lower it to the lowest setting and cover the pot.
Set a timer to 18 minutes. After the 18 minutes are done, turn the heat off and set the pot of rice aside.
Leave the rice COVERED for a minimum of 10 minutes or until you are ready to use it in the soup, as it needs to finish absorbing all the water once removed from the heat.
When you open the pot of rice, fluff the rice with a fork.

Notes

Hint: It is always best to cook starches like rice separately versus adding them directly into a soup to cook. This extra step is simple and worth it. Consider making extra rice and using it for soup and making fried rice for the next few days.

Substitutions & Variations

Instead of rice, use pearl barley (note that barley is not gluten-free).
Instead of rice, use potatoes.
Instead of rice, use orzo pasta.
Omit the chicken thighs entirely and rely on bone broth and vegetables — a very flavorful recipe!
Use pumpkin or winter squash (butternut, acorn, etc.) instead of sweet potatoes.
Use spinach instead of kale (as in the photos).
Add pancetta or bacon.

Storage, Reheating, & Freezing

Like most soups, golden glow soup can be enjoyed for many days, and the flavors will only improve.

This soup will stay fresh and tasty for up to 5 days, covered, in the refrigerator.

Keep the rice separate (refrigerated and covered) and add it to the soup as you reheat it, or add it cold to your bowls and then warm it up with hot soup.

To reheat soup: ladle your desired portion into a medium pot and heat it on low until it reaches the desired temperature. Stay close by and stir, adding a splash of water or stock as needed in case the soup has thickened too much in storage.

To freeze soup: soups make great freezer meals, and they can be heated directly from their frozen state. Use heavy-duty plastic or silicone freezer bags and allow the soup to cool before freezing.

Nutrition