Quinoa Chicken Soup with Coriander is a dish that serves three. To start, fresh coriander stems are roughly chopped, keeping the leaves for later. These stems, along with an onion and garlic, are blended with olive oil into a paste. This mixture is then sautéed to enhance its flavors. Into this base, chicken stock is added and brought to a boil, followed by quinoa, which simmers under a lid for about 15 minutes. If you're using raw chicken, it's poached in the stock at this stage, then shredded once cooked. Frozen peas and the shredded chicken are warmed through in the soup afterwards. For a final touch, the reserved coriander leaves are pounded with some more olive oil and sea salt into a paste and stirred into the soup, infusing it with fresh herby flavors. Serve this comforting soup with lime wedges and, if you like a bit of spice, some finely chopped green chili.
By trimming the ends off the coriander stems. Roughly chop these stems, setting the leaves aside.
Combine the prepared coriander stems with an onion, garlic, and two tablespoons of olive oil in a food processor.
Heat a saucepan over medium heat and fry the coriander paste for about three minutes, allowing the onion and garlic to soften.
Pour chicken stock into the saucepan and bring it to a boil. Add quinoa and, if using raw chicken, add it now to poach. Cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes. Once cooked, remove the chicken to shred it.
Return the shredded chicken to the pan, add frozen peas, and heat everything until hot.
Pound the reserved coriander leaves with the remaining olive oil and sea salt to create a paste. Stir this paste into the soup. Serve the soup garnished with lime wedges and, for extra heat, add chopped green chili to taste.