Low carb mexican chicken soup

It’s the middle of winter in Iceland and I´ll admit that the 24 hour darkness (we get a little daylight between 11 am and 3 pm if we’re lucky) is really getting to me these days. I decided I needed a little color and spice to brighten my days and what’s better for that than a delicious low carb mexican soup!

Disclaimer: The closest I’ve been to Mexico was a trip to New Orleans, Icelandic food is mostly pretty bland and until recently we didn’t have a lot of variety in groceries, so I guess we´ll call anything that has chili powder in it Mexican. I’m terribly sorry if I offend anyone by calling this Mexican food if it isn’t Whatever it is, it’s very, very, very good!

I made a double recipe in a HUGE pot because I wanted to freeze it in portions and heat up for lunch later.  I let it sit outside overnight after cooking before I freeze it because it gets even better that way.

I love cooking this recipe when I have guests and even for bigger parties because I can have my low carb dinner and the guests can add nachos to the soup or have a piece of bread with it. Everyone loves the soup and wants the recipe so here it is:

Low carb Mexican chicken soup

Ingredients (for 5-6 people or so)

3 tbsp butter (or oil)

1.5 medium onions- chopped

3 cloves garlic

1/2 big leek – chopped

1 big zucchini – chopped into small pieces

(optional – red and green peppers, finely chopped)

1 can tomatoes – diced is good

(optional if you can have the extra carbs – 1 small jar salsa (watch for added sugar)

1 small (the tiny ones) can tomato purée

1 chicken stock cube (I use Knorr)

1 vegetable stock cube

2.5 liters (2.69 quarts) Water

1 teaspoon sea salt (more or less to taste)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)

1/2 teaspoon chili powder (more or less to taste)

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

700 grams (1.5 pound) chicken thighs, boneless. (You can use also cook and shred a whole chicken or use  3 cooked medium chicken breasts but the thighs have the most fat and flavour and are usually cheap) – Also note that this soup isn’t exact science, if you want more (or less) chicken or veggies, just add some.

200 gr (7.7 ounces) cream cheese

For each bowl of soup before serving:

1 tbsp Sour cream

3 tbsp or so shredded cheese (cheddar is good)

Method:

1. In a large enough pot melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Add the onions, garlic, leek and zucchini. Swish around for a few minutes until soft. the point isn’t to brown them, just soften up a little bit.
3. Add the canned tomatoes and tomato purée. Stir.
4. Add the water, stock cubes and spices. You might want to hold back on some of the spices and add the rest towards the end of cooking the soup in case it’s too spicy for your taste.
5. Let the soup simmer for an hour.
6. Meanwhile you can prepare the chicken. Cook it in a pan or in your oven and chop into bite size pieces.
7. After the soup has simmered for an hour, add the chicken and let is simmer for 15 more minutes, then add the cream cheese. When the cream cheese is mixed into the soup, taste it and make adjustments if needed.
8. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a handful of shredded cheese in each bowl (or have people help themselves with that)
9. Enjoy your hearty and healthy low carb mexican chicken soup!

Approximate nutritional info for a portion without sour cream and cheese:  Calories – 330, carbs – 9, fiber 1.2 – net carbs – 8.2, protein – 30, fat – 18.

Approximate nutritional info for a portion with 18% sour cream and cheddar cheese: Calories – 497, carbs – 10, fiber 1.2 – net carbs – 9.2, protein – 38, fat – 32.