Mulligatawny Soup

Casey’s cousin, Tom Case, and his wife Lisa, a nurse, live in Park City Utah, and are two of our favorite relatives.  Lisa sent us this terrific soup recipe with the following story…….

“After years of being misdiagnosed with MS, it was discovered that my friend Vicki Crawford had a baseball sized brain tumor.  After a 10 hour surgery she ended up in the ICU for almost 30 days.  She had a kindergartner and 3rd grader at home at the time, and it was touch and go and very stressful for the family.  She was left blind in one eye but today is doing remarkably well and living back in Seattle. Vicki is known around town for her excellent culinary skills, and this is one of the first things she cooked when she was well enough to invite Tom and I over to enjoy it with her family.  Although there is a bit of chopping involved, it is one of the best tasting soups I have ever had, and it always brings Vicki and her incredible journey of survival and hope to mind.”

• 1/2 cup butter (I use 1/4 butter and 2-3 Tb. olive oil)
• 2 tsp (plus) curry powder
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup carrots (sliced or chunks)
• 2 Tbs. chopped green pepper
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 cups milk (just don’t use non-fat)
• 2-3 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
• 1 cup unpeeled granny smith apple, diced
• One 14 1/2 can chicken broth
• 1 tsp. minced dry onion
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 2 tsp. dried parsley
• 1 1/2 tsp. vegetable supreme

Melt butter in a large kettle or saucepan.  Stir in curry, onion, celery, carrot, and green pepper.  Cook until slightly tender.  Stir in flour and mix.  Slowly stir in milk and chicken broth.  Then add salt, chicken, apple and additional spices.  Cover and simmer (do not boil) for 1/2 hour or longer.  Serves about 4.

Note: We have some people who don’t tolerate milk well in our family, so I needed to make some adjustments. I swapped out the liquid for 1 cup light coconut milk and 3 cans of chicken broth, which made for a creamy, subtly flavored base. Half the butter works fine. I tossed in a clove of garlic with the onion (because I can’t help myself), used 3 tsp curry, and served it with a squeeze of lime and chopped cilantro.  I didn’t have the last 4 spices, and left them out. And you can save a step by adding the chicken raw to the soup and it will cook beautifully during the simmering time.  I promised Brittany I would bring her the rest the next day, but had to confess there was only a cupful left!  So I will make this again this week as I know she will love it as much as we did.