When you are feeling cold or sick, or after overindulging, there is nothing better than hot chicken soup to soothe your stomach and make you feel better. This is my husband’s recipe for Mexican caldo, but it is almost the same recipe as Peruvian sopa de pollo, except Peruvians add turmeric and white rice into the soup, and call it Aguadito de pollo, and do not add salsa.
Caldo de pollo
Ingredients:
One whole chicken or pieces
4 celery sticks diced and chopped into small pieces
4 carrots peeled and diced into quarter sized pieces
1 large onion diced
4 garlic cloves diced
1 large potato unpeeled diced into small pieces
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon marjoram leaves
½ teaspoon oregano
1 bay leaf
1 bunch of cilantro for garnish
1 lime for garnish
Salsa picante (optional)
In a large pot or Dutch oven, boil chicken pieces or whole chicken in water that has been salted.
After chicken is completely cooked, remove from heat. Let stand for 30 minutes and remove skin, bones and fragments.
Remove fat from broth. Add onion, celery, garlic, potatoes and carrots to broth until cooked. Add salt, pepper, marjoram, bay leaf, and oregano. Cook until carrots and potatoes are cooked through. Approximately 20 minutes.
Add de-boned chicken back into broth and cook for another 15 minutes.
Serve piping hot in bowls with cilantro leaves and limes as garnish. Serve with homemade salsa. You can also add Mexican rice to the soup after serving.