chicken-fennel soup

Why am I eating soup in the middle of summer, you ask? Because I live in Santa Cruz, where seasons don’t really exist and I have my heater on as I write this. And because bone broth is such a healthy food, I try to eat it year round! I added fennel to a traditional chicken soup to make it a bit more refreshing for summer, plus I needed to use up the fennel from last weeks CSA box! I have to say, it turned out surprisingly good!

Ingredients
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs (can sub chicken breast)
1 white onion, diced
2 carrots, chopped
1 fennel bulb, diced
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
4 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dry basil
1 teaspoon dry parsley
fresh parsley for garnish
2-3 tablespoons ghee or grass-fed butter for browning

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of ghee over medium heat. Saute onions until translucent. Add fennel and saute until softened. Then add celery, garlic and carrots. Saute for a few minutes until vegetables are fragrant. Move all ingredients into a soup pot.
2. Add more ghee to skillet if needed and brown chicken, until all sides are browned and partly cooked through. Move to soup pot.
3. To soup pot, add salt, pepper, basil, parsley and stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
4. Top with fresh parsley and serve!