Soothing Chicken and Rice Soup

I made soup. Again. Because we have been sick. Again.

I’d love to have more glamourous things to talk about. But since and I spent last week in its entirety at home nursing a little snuffleupagus, and most of this week with a faucet where my nose used to be – soup, tylenol and wool socks: this is really all the material I’ve got, folks.




Well, that and we started the little peanut on solids – how fun! You can’t tell by the photo below, but I’m sure a few bites actually got in his mouth.

As a matter of fact, I made the soup for him! Thought it would help his sniffles, and was looking for some iron-rich first foods that were more nutritious than the uber-processed iron-fortified cereals they recommend starting on. It’s mild and soothing. I just pureed his portion in my mini food processor until smooth.

He likes, don’t you think?

The soup boasts the lovely rich flavour of homemade broth (even though I shortcut-ed with cartoned) because I simmered whole chicken legs with the bones for about an hour. But if pressed for time, just simmer until chicken is cooked through or use a store-bought rotisserie bird.

At the last minute, I showered the pot with an entire bunch of finely chopped parsley – it brightens the flavour wonderfully, and herbs pack a concentrated nutritional punch.

That’s all for today. If anyone is currently on a sunny vacation and sees my immune system lolling around by a pool, tell him to get his LAZY MOTHER PARKING ASH back over here!

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, halved lengthwise and chopped crosswise in 1/2-inch pieces
  • 2 carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise and chopped crosswise in 1/2-inch pieces
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 bone-in chicken legs, skin removed (or 2 cups shredded, cooked chicken or turkey)
  • 2 litres/quarts low sodium chicken broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup any rice (I used a brown and wild rice blend)
  • 1 bunch parsley, finely chopped
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

  1. Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add onion, celery and carrots, and cook until onion is soft. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.

  2. Add whole chicken legs, broth and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Add rice at this point for the shorter cooking method. Cover and cook until rice is tender and chicken is cooked through, at least 30 minutes (45 if you use brown rice). Or for the longer cooking method, for a richer broth, simmer the chicken legs on their own for 30 minutes, then add the rice and cook until tender (30-45 minutes more).

  3. Remove chicken using a slotted spoon and transfer to a cutting board. When cool enough to handle, use two forks to shred it into bite sized pieces. Discard bones.

  4. Stir shredded chicken back into soup, along with chopped parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Last Updated on November 15, 2013 by Jennifer Pallian BSc, RD

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