Reset Soup
This is the kind of soup that feels like a full-body exhale. Deeply nourishing, fragrant, restorative, and layered with flavor from slow-simmered herbs, aromatics, tender chicken, and optional shredded flank steak. It’s the kind of pot you make when you want your kitchen to smell incredible, your fridge to hold something healing for days, and your body to feel looked after.
It’s beautifully simple, deeply adaptable, and somehow even better the next day.
Ingredients
1 whole organic chicken
1 piece flank steak, optional
3 leeks, cleaned and roughly chopped
2 yellow onions, peeled and quartered
5 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 celery root, peeled and chopped
1 head parsley
1 bunch dill
1 bunch fresh thyme
1 fennel bulb, chopped
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
1 1-inch piece fresh ginger
1 head garlic, halved crosswise
5 bay leaves
3 quarts vegetable broth
1 star anise
5 whole cloves
1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
Water, as needed
For serving
Wild Rice
Shredded chicken
Shredded flank steak, if using
Reserved carrots, optional
Avocado
Fresh parsley
Fresh dill
Chives
Jalapeños
Instructions
Place the whole chicken, flank steak if using, leeks, onions, carrots, celery root, parsley, dill, thyme, fennel, parsnip, ginger, garlic, bay leaves, star anise, cloves, and peppercorns into a large Dutch oven or heavy stockpot.
Pour in the vegetable broth, then add enough water to fully cover and submerge everything. Depending on the size of your pot, you may need a bit more water to make sure the ingredients have enough room to simmer properly.
Bring the pot to a boil over medium-high heat, then immediately reduce the heat to low so the soup settles into a gentle simmer. Cover loosely and let it cook for 3 to 4 hours, until the chicken is fully cooked, the meat is tender, and the broth is deeply fragrant and flavorful.
Carefully remove the chicken from the pot and transfer it to a large bowl or cutting board. If using the flank steak, remove that as well and set it aside. Once cool enough to handle, pull all of the chicken meat from the bones and shred it into bite-sized pieces. Shred the flank steak as well, if using. Set both aside.
If you’d like to keep some of the carrots for serving, remove a few before straining the soup and set them aside.
Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a large clean pot or bowl, discarding the cooked vegetables, herbs, and spices. Return the clear broth to the pot and taste for seasoning. Add salt as needed.
To serve, ladle the hot broth into bowls and add shredded chicken, shredded flank steak if using, and any reserved carrots. Finish with avocado, fresh parsley, dill, chives, or jalapeños, depending on your mood. The contrast of the hot broth with cool avocado is especially good.
Notes
This soup keeps beautifully in the fridge for several days and is often even better the next day, once the flavors have had more time to settle and deepen.
You can keep the broth and shredded meat stored separately, or combine everything for easy reheating throughout the week.
The flank steak is optional, but it adds another layer of richness and makes the soup feel even heartier.