It's been a while I know. I'm sorry for the lengthy absence, but I do have a treat for you! A delightfully light and fresh soup that will wake you up and make you feel all warm and fuzzy at the same time. I must give my mother most of the credit for this recipe. When we lived in California, we used to go to this great little bakery cafe that served the most amazing soups. The idea comes from them, but they certainly were not about to share their recipes. Mom mastered this recipe, with feedback from me of course :-) It is so healthy, surprisingly different, and scrumptiously simple with it's bright fresh flavors. And in case you didn't know, this is a play on a classic Greek soup with lemon and basil, but I've never seen one quite like this. It's also a super fast and easy weeknight meal.
Lemon Chicken, Basil, Rice Soup
1 Rotisserie Chicken, or
1 pound of cooked chicken, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 medium Onion, diced
2 ribs of Celery, diced
4 lemons (peel the skin off of one and juice all of them, reserving the juice
separately from the peel)
1 stalk of Lemon Grass, chopped into large pieces.
20 large leaves of fresh basil (no substitute), roughly chopped
5 Cups of chicken Stock
½ cup of uncooked Rice
Salt
PepperDirections:Start by removing the meat from your rotisserie chicken and
chopping it so that no piece is bigger than 1 inch square. Set your chicken aside.In a large soup pot, heat the oil over high heat until it is
starting to shimmer. Add the Onion and
celery and reduce the heat to
medium. Stir until both vegetables are
starting to brown slightly.Add the chicken, chicken stock and rice, lemon peel, lemon grass,
half of the basil and half of the lemon juice and stir to combine.Reduce the heat to low and cover. Let simmer on low until the rice is cooked
through.At this point you will need to pull out the lemon peel and
chunks of lemon grass, as best you can, and throw them away.Stir in the remaining lemon juice and basil, taste and serve.
IMPORTANT: It has come to my attention that if you use a lemon press, you will get way more lemon juice from your lemons, making this soup way too tart. If you use a lemon press, please cut the lemon juice in half.
*Note, the strength of chicken broth can vary greatly. I use "Better than Bullion" to create my own broth on most occasions. If you taste your soup and it seems a little weak, add a little more broth or bullion to create a more rich chicken flavor. The same applies to the lemon and basil. If you like a more lemony or basily (not sure that's a word) flavor, add more lemon juice or basil. The success of all recipes are subjective to your own personal tastes and should be adjusted to suit your own preferences.
Serves 8
EnJoy!
