During cold and flu season, soup can not only help you feel better while you're sick, it can help prevent sickness too. This recipe takes the homey comfort of chicken noodle soup and boosts the nutritional value by adding immune system herbs such as garlic, stinging nettle, , and shiitake mushrooms.
I like to cook this soup when everyone around me seems to be sick and I know my immune system can use the extra help. Drinking a cup of green tea with it can also boost the immune system benefits. Does it work? Over the past four years, I've had only one cold.
Instructions
1. Set a large soup pan to medium high heat and add olive oil. Let olive oil heat for a minute or two, and then add onion and garlic. Sautee for two minutes, then add the carrots and celery.
2. Lower the heat to medium and sautee everything for an additional 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and chicken and sautee again for 2 minutes.
3. Add the orzo, chicken stock, , stinging nettle, dill, oregano, basil, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Cover and raise the heat to medium high. Cook until the soup is boiling, and then simmer it on low for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
4. A few minutes before it's finished, you can taste it to make sure there is enough salt and pepper. You also may want to adjust some of the other seasonings. You can serve this by itself or with a salad and bread.
Tags: immune system, burdock root, heat medium, medium high, salt pepper, stinging nettle
