Chicken Lemon Coriander Soup

This is the soup version of a reset button. Light, bright, clean, and energising -- it tastes like something your body needed before you knew you needed it. The combination of lemon and fresh coriander at the end of cooking is the defining characteristic: the lemon wakes every other flavour in the pot, and the coriander adds a herbaceous freshness that makes the soup feel alive rather than cooked.

The trick is adding both off the heat. Lemon juice and coriander both lose their brightness when boiled -- the volatile compounds that make them taste vivid cook off. By adding lemon juice and fresh coriander leaves after the flame goes out, you preserve the sharp freshness that defines this soup. The cooked coriander stalks in the broth give a different, earthier note that provides depth; the fresh leaves at the end give brightness.

Turmeric turns the broth a gentle gold and adds anti-inflammatory properties. Ginger adds warmth without sharpness. The result is a soup that is genuinely nourishing -- high in protein, low in fat, full of Vitamin C from the lemon -- and genuinely delicious. Serve it when you're under the weather, after a heavy meal, or simply when you want something restorative and light.