*Aguadito de Pollo (Peruvian Chicken Soup)* Gluten-Free

Last week, my daughter and I both caught a cold and were feeling miserable; but now that we’re starting to feel better, inevitably, yesterday, my husband came down with a cold. Stuffed-up nose that’s running like a faucet at the same time. Pounding headache and sore scratchy throat, sound familiar right? Yes, we’ve all been hit by the “bug” at some point in our life; and when we do, generally the only thing that sounds good to eat is soup. 


Now normally, I would have made my Mom’s recipe for chicken soup that we believe is fantastic! *I’ll ask her permission if I can post her recipe to share with you all later :)* But since she just made it for us last week when we were in Orange County visiting her, I decided I wanted to make something else. Browsing through the internet I happened to stumble upon a recipe for agudito de pollo (Peruvian Chicken Soup) and I knew immediately that was the direction I wanted to head in. Rich, bold flavors with an extra kick of spice! Yes! 

Now, after I went to the market and had all my ingredients, I started following the recipe but then I realized I was changing a lot of things and making it my own version. A version I’m unsure that still qualifies as agudito de pollo but I’m going with it for now and will call it that name for the time being. :)
It’s a gluten-free recipe and my husband called it the perfect “sicky face” food. The heat from the Serrano chili cleared up his congestion and he could finally start breathe out of his nose again. We both enjoyed the powerful flavors in this soup and it went perfectly with the cold rainy night we were having.

Aguadito de Pollo (Peruvian Chicken Soup) 

Ingredients
• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – (cut in half)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup coconut oil (can substitute for olive oil, and may add more if desired)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon seeded, minced serrano chile (approx. 2 chilies) (may use less if you are sensitive to spice)
• 1 cup chopped cilantro (1 bunch, how it's sold in the store)
• 1 cup green peas (I used Trader Joe’s frozen minted peas)
• 1 cup corn
• 2 celery stocks chopped
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 5 Gold potatoes, cut in half
• 1 lemon

Directions
1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper (garlic pepper is great too). Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion, garlic, and serrano chili; cook until the onion has softened, about 1 minute. Add the chicken, and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the half the cilantro, peas, corn, and celery; cook for 1 minute. Pour in the chicken stock and potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the chicken is fully cooked and the potatoes are tender, about 40 minutes. Add the remaining cilantro the last few minutes before soup is done. Squeeze half a lemon over the soup and stir. When serving, squeeze additional lemon juice on top if desired.

Side note: Soup will appear a lot greener than shown in picture.