Name: Lemon Chicken & Rice Soup
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 165 min
Ingredients: 1 large yellow onion (diced); 6 carrots (small dice); 6 celery stalks (small dice); 4 cloves garlic (minced); 2 tbsp butter; 1 tbsp fresh rosemary (minced); 1 tbsp fresh thyme (minced); 2 bay leaf; 2 1/2 cups sweet corn; handful fresh parsley (minced); 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes; 12 cups chicken stock; 1 whole chicken (baked and shredded (reserve bones for stock later)); 1 cup chopped spinach; 8 servings rice; 4 tbsp flour; 4 tbsp butter; 6 tbsp lemon juice; 1 tbsp lemon zest; salt and pepper to taste

Happy new year! I can’t believe it’s already 11 days into 2016. Since it’s January and cold season is in full force I thought I would post a recipe that helps beat the bugs that ail you. This soup is a simple, back to basics recipe. I like the addition of flour and eggs to give the broth a richer consistency. The soup is flavored with fresh herbs like rosemary and thyme, along with fresh lemon juice. A hot bowl of this soup makes for a comforting and nourishing dinner if you’re at home sick. I like to make a big pot of this soup on Sundays so I can have it during the week.

Lemon Chicken & Rice Soup

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 45 minutes

Servings 8

Calories 500 kcal

Ingredients

1 large yellow onion diced
6 carrots small dice
6 celery stalks small dice
4 cloves garlic minced
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp fresh rosemary minced
1 tbsp fresh thyme minced
2 bay leaf
2 1/2 cups sweet corn
handful fresh parsley minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
12 cups chicken stock
1 whole chicken baked and shredded (reserve bones for stock later)
1 cup chopped spinach
8 servings rice
4 tbsp flour
4 tbsp butter
6 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon zest
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Coat the whole chicken in a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover and bake at 375F for about 1 1/2-1 3/4 hours (or until done).
Meanwhile, in a large stock pot, melt 2 tbsp butter and add the onion, celery and carrot. Cook 7-8 minutes until soft.
Add the garlic, thyme, rosemary and red pepper flake. Cook 1 minute until fragrant.
Add the chicken stock, corn, spinach, bay leaf and lemon zest. Cook on lowest setting about an hour.
Once the chicken is done, remove from the oven and set aside until it's cool enough to shred.
Shred the meat with a pair of forks (optional: freeze the bones to make stock later). Set the shredded meat aside.
In a separate sauce pot, melt 4 tbsp butter and stir in 4 tbsp of flour until smooth.
Gradually add 3 cups of broth to the mixture and cook until slightly thickened, stirring constantly.
Remove the main soup pot from heat.
Stir in the lemon juice to the thickened broth mixture.
Pour the broth mixture back into the main soup pot.
In a small bowl, beat the eggs until frothy.
Then VERY slowly pour the beaten eggs into the soup, whisking constantly (Do NOT perform this step if the soup is boiling or very hot otherwise you'll have scrambled eggs!). Stir in the eggs until fully incorporated.
Place the soup back on lowest heat and gradually heat back up, stirring often just to thicken the soup a bit.
Meanwhile, cook as many servings of rice as you need (about 1/4 cup dried per serving).
Add the shredded chicken into the soup pot along with a handful of parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more lemon juice if necessary.
Add the cooked rice into each bowl and ladle the soup over the rice. (I like to cook the rice separate and place the rice in the bowl first to prevent it from soaking up all the broth overnight). Stir and serve with lemon slices and parsley.

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