Shredded chicken simmered with green beans, carrot, peas, potato, onion and tomato. An hour in a pot or half that under pressure, and it reheats well the next day.
A pot, not a slow cooker
The first method on this card was headed instructions for a slow cooker and then told you to cook for one hour.
That does not describe any slow cooker. Those work at low temperatures over four to eight hours, and an hour in one would leave the potatoes raw.
The Spanish said olla, which is simply a pot, and one hour over medium heat is exactly right for it. The second method, a pressure cooker in half an hour, was correct all along.
Green beans, not dried
The ingredient list says a cup of beans, cut into one-inch pieces, and that instruction is the giveaway.
Nobody cuts a dried bean into pieces. These are habichuelas, green beans, and they go in at the start with everything else and cook down over the hour.
Dried beans in this recipe would be a different soup entirely and would need soaking and far longer.
Everything at once
There is no sofrito, no browning, no order of operations. Chicken, green beans, carrot, peas, potato, onion, tomato, garlic, cilantro, bell pepper, bouillon cube, colouring and salt all go into the pot together with water to cover.
That is what makes it a weeknight soup. The work is in the chopping, and the vegetables are all cut small or grated so an hour is enough to bring them together.
It also means it is forgiving. Nothing can be added in the wrong order because there is no order.
Grated onion and tomato
Both are grated rather than chopped, which is worth noticing. Grated onion and tomato dissolve into the broth and thicken it slightly instead of sitting in it as pieces.
It is a common Colombian technique for soups that are meant to have body without anything being blended.
More soups
- Chicken and rice soup — with rice in it.
- Sopa de pasta — the one with pasta.
- Crema de pollo — blended smooth.
- Chicken sancocho — the bigger one.
Chicken Vegetable Soup FAQ
Green beans, habichuelas. The instruction says to cut them into one-inch pieces, which is not something anyone does to a dried bean, and they go in at the start with everything else.
No, and the original instruction was misleading. It said slow cooker and then gave it one hour, which is not how a slow cooker works. The Spanish was olla, a pot, and an hour over medium heat is right.
Half an hour, which is the second method on the card. Everything goes in at once either way.
Yes, which is what the recipe's note says. They need the full hour rather than being added late, and the broth is better for the bones.
A powdered achiote or annatto colouring sold in sachets, which turns the broth golden. It adds almost no flavour. A pinch of turmeric or sweet paprika does the same.
Yes. There is no browning stage and no order. The vegetables are all cut small and the chicken is already cooked, so an hour brings it together.
Yes, better than most soups, and it is usually made in a quantity that assumes there will be some left.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded chicken (or whole chicken pieces)
- 1 cup green beans (habichuelas, cut into one-inch pieces)
- 1 cup potato (finely diced)
- ½ cup carrot (finely diced)
- ½ cup green peas
- ½ medium-sized white onion (grated)
- 1 large tomato (grated)
- 1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
- ½ bouillon cube (Ricostilla)
- Bell pepper (grated, to taste)
- Achiote or annatto colouring ('color' in Colombia, to taste)
- Cilantro (finely chopped, to taste)
- Salt (to taste)
Notas
Instructions
In a pot
- Put the green beans, the carrot, the shredded chicken, the peas, the potato, the onion, the tomato, the garlic, the cilantro, the bell pepper, the bouillon cube, the achiote colouring and salt into a pot with enough water to cover everything. Cook over medium heat for one hour.
- Serve with rice.
In a pressure cooker
- Put all the ingredients in the cooker with enough water and cook over medium heat for half an hour.
- Serve.
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