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Chicken chilli bean soup with garlic croutons

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Jamie’s Soup

posted in, Soup on Friday, October 01, 2010

I can't tell you how many times I've made this soup. From the name you might've thought that this was one's of my husband's culinary specialities...but unlike his feta and broccoli stir-fry that will live in the depths of my funnybones forever, the name of this soup is actually in reference to He who loves this soup (possibly more than life itself). He who could eat it every day for the rest of his life and never tire of it. He who will never request anything else if I ask Him what He would like for dinner. He could eat this hot spicy concoction in the dead heat of summer, He loves it that much. That He is my husband, Jamie.

Now, we all know that food is love. We show people how much we love them by cooking for them, and sharing our food with them. So based on that premise, and based on the sheer number of times I've made this soup I love that man an awful lot. Funny enough my mother is to blame for bringing this recipe into our collection - she loves him an awful lot too so I suppose it seems fitting. If Mexican minestrone and white chicken chilli had a lovechild, this soup would be it. For me, the stock to vegetable and chicken ratio makes it distinctly more soup than chilli, but the flavors are those found it any respectable chilli. But then again lovechild-ren don't usually come from respectable relationships. Oh, anyway lets not even go there. I like to serve this soup with extra-garlicky croutons for a bit of crunch and as I made this soup last week I discovered a new favorite way to make garlic croutons which I will share with you below. Can you feel the love?

Look, this is no quick and speedy recipe (of course) - it's one that takes a bit of thought the night before and several stages of preparation on the day of cooking. It is likely to keep you in the kitchen for most of the day. But that said, you'll want to be in there anyway because it smells so good. If you're anything like me there are some days when lingering around the stove is the perfect cure for whatever ails me. It seems there is nothing more comforting than standing over a generous pot of soup as its scrumptious soupy aroma wafts up enveloping you in the warm comfort of home. To be fair many of the stages are non-active, so even if you were in good spirits when you started cooking this you won't feel hard done by in the end. Further to that since it's now officially Autumn, this is the perfect football food. An early Sunday start would mean the soup was ready just in time for kickoff, if that sort of thing is important in your house. It definitely is in ours - and just think, once you cook this for your football loving family you can let them know that the time you spent cooking the soup is directly related to how much you love them. Soup, football, and love. I got you covered people.

Chicken Chilli Bean Soup

For the soup
3 large chicken breasts
1lb / 450g dried navy (haricot) beans
1 large onion, diced
1 small onion, left whole
3 cloves garlic, 1 whole, 2 minced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 large carrots, diced
2 fresh jalapenos, minced - we leave the seeds in, but we keep a fire extinguisher and lots of beer on hand
1 jar pickled jalapenos (plus juice) - optional
32fl oz / 1 ltr chicken stock
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4 tablespoons fresh coriander (cilantro), choped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons dried cumin
1 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoons dried oregano
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

For the croutons:
3 cups day-old bread (I use baguette - but any artisan loaf will work)
1 whole head of garlic
1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
salt to taste

To Serve
grated cheddar cheese
fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped

The day before you want to make the soup: Soak the beans in a very large bowl covered with at least 3 inches of water (the beans will expand as they soak).

The morning of the day you want to eat the soup: Drain the beans and put into a large pot. Cover with water, peel the small onion and and add to the pot, throw in 1 clove of garlic, peeled. Slowly bring the beans up to a boil - when you bring to a boil rapidly they are more likely to split. When the water has reached a rolling boil, turn the heat down to low and simmer and cook until the beans are tender (this usually takes about an hour and a half for me - but your beans may be different so start checking at about an hour). When the beans are just cooked, remove the onion and garlic if you can and drain. Rinse out the soup pot and put it back on the stove.

Meanwhile, as the beans cook put the chicken breasts into cold water in a medium saucepan (with a lid). With the lid off bring the water to a boil, let it boil for 2 minutes uncovered. Put the lid on and turn off the heat. Don't peek! Just let the chicken breasts poach in the water and forget about them until later.

At this stage you can leave the beans and poached chicken until you are ready to finish the soup, or if you want to keep going and cook right away: Preheat the oven to 400f / 200c. Cut the head of garlic in half, pour over 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and wrap in foil. Roast the garlic in the oven for at least an hour or until golden brown and really squishy. Set aside to cool, and turn the oven down to 350f / 180c.

Add the 2 Tablespoons of olive oil to the pan, and soften the onion, celery and carrot for 10 minutes. Add the minced garlic, chopped fresh jalapenos, chopped pickled jalapenos (reserving the juice), and all of the dried spices (but do not salt at this stage). Add the drained beans to the pot and pour in the chicken stock. Add the 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce and the jalapeno juice (to taste - a little goes a long way with this). Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour or until vegetables are tender. While the soup cooks take the the chicken out of the poaching liquid and shred with two forks. Add the chicken to the soup during the last 10 minutes of cooking to warm through, season with salt and pepper to taste.

As your soup cooks finish the croutons: The oven should be cooled to 350f / 180c by now...Rip the bread into bite-sized chunks. In a large frying pan heat the 1/4 cup olive oil and 3 Tablespoons butter over medium heat. Squeeze all of the roasted garlic into the pan and squash it down with the back of a spatula or spoon. Once heated through, turn the heat up to high to get the oil really hot BUT be careful that the garlic doesn't catch, it burns easily. Once hot, chuck the bread in and let it soak up the garlicky oil and butter concoction. Constantly stir as you let the bread toast in the pan for a minute, and then tip out onto a baking tray. Put into the oven for 15-20 minutes until deeply golden brown. Admittedly, these take a long time and there are other ways of making garlic croutons, but trust me, once you make them this way you'll never make them another way again.

Serve the soup in large bowls with grated cheese, coriander (cilantro) and croutons.

Makes 10-12 servings.