Chicken and Shrimp Soup

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Updated on March 27, 2014

This week’s soup recipe comes from a military man who prefers to keep his real identity undercover. He did, however, decide to declassify his Chicken and Shrimp Soup recipe for the Primal Blueprint Cookbook Challenge, and we’re glad he did. The soup follows one of our favorite soup-making methods, which is throwing a bunch of healthy stuff in a pot and letting it simmer to deliciousness. All that’s required on your part is a little chopping and stirring. Yes, there are a lot of ingredients, but if you scan the list you’re likely to find that you already have many of them on hand.

In the dark days of winter this soup adds a burst of much needed color. Nutrient-rich yellow pepper, celery, carrots and tomatoes are mostly responsible, although a nice blend of spices and a garnish of cilantro and scallions also brighten up the bowl. Chicken and shrimp add plenty of protein but with all the vegetables, the soup still has a light fresh flavor. That’s not say it isn’t plenty satisfying – if this soup can satisfy the hunger of military man, we’re confident it can satisfy your hunger too.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup bacon fat, lard or olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 tbsp chopped garlic
2 cups diced tomatoes
2 cups cauliflower “rice” or more to taste (for 2 cups worth take a bag of defrosted frozen cauliflower or 1/2 a head of fresh cauliflower and put in food processor or food “chopper” and process until cauliflower is the size and shape of rice)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sea salt
2 cups chopped chicken (For those on the go, rotisserie chicken works very well)
8 cups chicken stock
1 bag peeled and cleaned, uncooked shrimp
1/4 cup chopped scallions, or green onions
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Directions:

On medium heat, melt bacon fat or other fat in a large cooking pot. Add onions, yellow pepper, jalapeno, celery and carrots. Cook five minutes.

Add garlic and cook for an additional two minutes. Don’t let the garlic brown. Add tomato and the cauliflower “rice”. If you want soup that’s a little less soupy and more like meat and vegetables with a little broth, simply add a few more cups of cauliflower rice.

Add cayenne pepper, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and salt and sauté a few minutes then add chicken and cook for about five minutes, stirring frequently.