Chicken and Rice Soup

Chicken and Rice Soup

My family is a lover of chicken soups.  Mostly, I prepare a Chicken Noodle Soup.  However,  I ran across this recipe for Chicken and Rice Soup, in  Cook's Country magazine.  This soup looked delicious in the picture.  Lots of chicken, peas, carrots, and broth. Yum:)  This soup has a very nice short cut.  You use a rotisserie chicken.  After you have removed the chicken from the bones, you boil the bones and skin in a liquid of chicken broth, water, fresh thyme, bay leaves, onions, dark green part of leeks, and celery.  

Bring mixture to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes.   I discarded the chicken bones and then strained the liquid.  The result was a nice rich broth.  It looked and smelled rich.  Before you add the strained broth to the other ingredients, you need to cook some carrots, leeks and rice in some olive oil.  I used Arborio rice.  In Cook's Country, they stated that short-grain rice holds its shape better. By cooking the rice a few minutes before adding it to the chicken stock causes the starches on the outside of the rice to firm up.  This way, the grains won't blow out.  To the broth, you add the carrots, leeks, and rice.  Cook until the rice is tender.  Then you add your chicken, and peas and cook until they are heated through.  Stir in the parsley and add salt and pepper to taste.
This soup is soo delicious:)  Everyone in the family enjoyed it.  The broth had a  full bodied flavor that made this soup extra delicious.   It was a hearty dish with lots of chicken and veggies.  And  speaking of chicken, the chicken was moist, tender, and flavorful. Arborio rice was perfect to use.   I will be making this soup again.  It is on my list of quick and delicious soups.


Chicken and Rice Soup
From Cook's Country Magazine


Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 leek, white and light green parts halved lengthwise, sliced thin cross-wise, and washed thoroughly; dark green part chopped coarse and washed thoroughly
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 (2 1/2-pound) rotisserie chicken, skin and bones reserved for stock, meat shredded into bite-size pieces (3 cups)
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 cups water
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
2 carrots, peeled, quartered length-wise, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 cup short-grain white rice
Salt and pepper
1 cup frozen peas
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering.  Add onion, dark green leek part, and celery and cook until just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.  Add chicken skin and bones, broth, water, thyme, and bay leaves and bring to boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, loosely covered, for 30 minutes.

2. Strain stock through fine-mesh strainer into large bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids and set stock aside. (You should have about 8 cups of stock.  If you have less, add water to equal 8 cups.)

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3. Wipe out now-empty Dutch oven with paper towels and heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat until shimmering.  Add white and light green leek parts and carrots and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add rice and cook, stirring frequently, until edges of rice become translucent, about 2 minutes.  Add stock and 1 teaspoon salt and bring to boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender, 12 to 14 minutes.  Stir in chicken and peas and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.  Stir parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve.

Serves 6

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