Harvest Chicken Soup

This chicken soup starts the old-fashioned way: whole chicken breasts simmered with celery and quartered onion for two hours until the broth is golden and deeply flavorful. That long, slow simmer extracts every bit of richness from the bones.

Once the broth is built, the soup comes together in stages. Tomatoes and sliced carrots go in first for 30 minutes, then cubed chicken returns with zucchini and frozen peas for a final 10-minute simmer. Each vegetable hits the pot at the right moment so nothing turns to mush.

The avocado garnish is unexpected but brilliant. Cool, creamy slices of avocado melt slightly into the hot broth and add a rich, buttery contrast that turns a simple chicken soup into something more interesting.

Chef Tips

• Discard the celery and quartered onions after building the broth. They’ve given up all their flavor and would be mushy and bland.
• Slice the carrots thin so they cook through in 30 minutes. Thick rounds stay hard in the center.
• Add the peas frozen, straight from the bag. They’ll thaw and cook perfectly in the 10-minute final simmer.

Variations

• Stir in cooked rice or small pasta shapes for a heartier, more filling soup.
• Add a squeeze of lime juice over each bowl with the avocado for a Mexican-inspired twist.
• Swap zucchini for diced butternut squash for a sweeter, more autumnal version.