Chicken Soup With Rice
When I was a kid, I loved the Maurice Sendak book, “Chicken Soup with Rice.” The refrain was “Sipping once, Sipping twice, Sipping chicken soup with rice…” so I was pre-disposed to love Chicken Soup with Rice. This version gives you all the flavor of home-made chicken soup but you start with a rotisserie chicken. No one will ever taste the difference and this shortcut will save you time.
Chicken Soup With Rice
Ingredients
1 (2-lb) rotisserie chicken
3 celery ribs
1 medium onion, quartered and left unpeeled
6 fresh parsley sprigs plus
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
10 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (80 fl oz)
2 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1/2 cup long-grain rice, rinsed
Instructions
Remove meat from chicken, reserving skin and bones.
Coarsely chop 1 celery rib and put in a 6- to 8-quart pot along with chicken bones and skin, onion, parsley sprigs, thyme sprigs, bay leaf, and chicken broth. Simmer, partially covered, 1 hour.
While broth is simmering, shred about half of chicken meat into 1-inch-long pieces (about 1/4 inch thick) to yield 1 1/2 cups meat, reserving remaining meat for another use.
Cut remaining 2 celery ribs into 1/4-inch dice.
Pour chicken broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing hard on solids with back of a ladle and then discarding them. Skim fat from surface of broth.
Return strained broth to pot, then add carrots, diced celery, and rice and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and rice is very soft, about 30 minutes.
Stir in shredded chicken and chopped parsley.
ALL RECIPES ©ELIZABETH KARMEL 2020