Growing up in the Azores, I got used to many hearty soups—the winters are cold and damp there. We had collard soup, pea soup, chicken soup, shrimp soup, fennel soup, fava bean soup, and the list goes on. At the time I didn’t even realize it, and probably took it for granted, but I LOVE soup! Although I welcome any of these soups, anytime, chicken soup is at the top of my list when I want to warm up on a cold day or if I’m feeling under the weather. Chicken soup is kind’a like a hug when you’re not feeling great.
There are so many kinds of chicken soup out there, and for the most part, I love them all! But there’s always something special about the foods you grow up with. For example, Liz’s mom made delicious chicken soup with noddles and more veggies which is her preferred style. My mom always madechicken soup with rice, which is my favourite. A few tricks to make it super flavourful — cook nice fattychicken pieces (for the more health conscience folks, feel free to trim the fat) for a while to really release those yummy flavours. The next key element for me is to let the rice overcook a bit. Now I know any trained Chef reading this will likely cringe at the thought of overcooked rice, but this is what makes it really hearty for me and it’s how I grew up eating it. This recipe is very flexible, so feel free to cook the rice less if that’s you’re preference. Think of our recipes as a foundation where you’re always welcome to change anything to make it yours. Unless you hate lemon, I highly recommend a generous drizzle of fresh lemon juice in your bowl before you dig in. It adds a delicious touch!
It’s been a different kind of weather lately. Even though we’re well into September, we’ve had some very warm daytime temperatures. Evenings on the other hand have cooled down a bit and that’s what got me thinking of and craving soup. Since Fall is just starting, you’ll likely be seeing more soup recipes on the blog shortly. I thought this soup would be a great way to kickoff the season. Stay warm and eat well, friends!
- 1 3 to 3½ lbs chicken chopped in 8 pieces
- 3 tbs olive oil
- ½ cooking onion finely diced
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 10 cups water
- 3 tsp salt
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 1½ cups chopped carrots
- 1¼ cups short grain rice (I used Italian style)
- ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
- Heat up olive oil in a large pot on medium high.
- Add onions and sauté until translucent.
- Add garlic and sauté for about two more minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
- Distribute the pieces of chicken across the bottom of the pot.
- Add salt and pepper over the chicken pieces.
- Add the water and carrots.
- Once the water starts to bubble lightly, reduce to medium heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes.
- Remove the lid and take out all the cooked chicken pieces onto a large plate.
- Turn off the stove.
- Wait about 10 minutes or until you can comfortably handle the cooked chicken.
- Remove all bones and skin and discard.
- Chop the chicken into small bite-sized pieces.
- Add the pieces of chicken and rice into the pot.
- Raise the heat back to medium high.
- Once a slow boil is reached, lower the heat to medium and cover.
- Let the soup simmer for about 13 minutes.
- Uncover and check the rice for doneness. I prefer the rice to be a little over cooked, so I let it simmer for another 3 minutes.
- Adjust salt if necessary.
- Once the rice is ready, remove the pot from the stove, add the chopped parsley and stir.
- Plate each portion of soup and drizzle a generous amount of fresh lemon juice in each bowl.
The girls have been requesting your homemade soup, so made it for them tonight. ❤️
Was a hit ….they had with a grill cheese sandwich…..as per Krystal “mmmmmm…comfort food”
So cool. It makes me happy to know they liked it. Take care.