Soup season is upon us and I’m so excited to share some of my favorite recipes throughout the season. This recipe is so simple to put together and a GO-TO when I want soup but don’t want to be too complicated about it, which is rare BTW!
Along with making the soup, I make a homemade chicken stock using the scraps of the veggies and chicken bones and skin, then add water to cover and let simmer for about an hour, adding more water if needed as it does cook down as the flavors concentrate. Anything goes here, celery ends, carrot skins, onion trimmings, add it all – this makes it all the better. I have removed all the white/dark meat from this rotisserie chicken I bought from the grocery store (I said EASY!) but you can use whatever source for your chicken. I set this aside and throw all those bones/skin into the pot. Roast your own, use split chicken breasts with the bone in…..so many options.
all meat removed from the rotisserie chicken
chicken stock before simmer chicken stock after simmer
Side note here: This broth is an excellent base – I add a few big slices of fresh ginger root peeled (that I keep a stash of in my freezer so I always have the fresh stuff available) for won ton soup…….SO GOOD. I’ll share that in upcoming posts…..
As always, start out with the ‘mirepoix’, onions, carrots, and celery. I drizzle about 1 TBSP. olive oil along with 3 TBSP. of unsalted butter to get the pan heated before adding the onions. Let them cook until softened and wilty, then add the garlic and stir for 30 sec or so before adding the carrots and celery.
Now I add all the herbs before adding the stock. As you can see, I am very precise with my measurements…….from L–>R are ground black pepper, kosher salt, thyme, ground coriander, and oregano. This is the thing with soup, it comes down to personal preference, add more of this and less of that, or omit all together or substitute something else. It is SOUP, it will be amazing.
Place a colander right over your soup pot, take the chicken stock and pour into the soup. Then discard the solids.
Bring the soup to a boil, add the wild rice and lower to a simmer and let cook for about 45 min. stirring occasionally. I recommend wild rice so it won’t break down with the simmer, which long-grain rice tends to do. (You could omit the rice, and just add some pre-cooked rice when you are actually serving the soup so it will have more texture.) Then add chicken. I found if the chicken is added too early, it all starts to fall apart and become more shredded, and I like more chunky bits of chicken so I add this later. A bouillon cube might be a good addition if the soup needs a little more flavor. Totally optional but does add a nice depth to the soup. I use Knorr’s chicken flavor.
As I still had some spinach left from the previous week, I added this to zing it up. A nice compliment to the soup is a few parmesean crackers. So excited for Soup Season!
This recipe is so simple to put together and a GO-TO when I want soup but don’t want to be too complicated about it, which is rare BTW!
- 3 TBSP. unsalted butter
- 1 TBSP. olive oil
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 1-3 tsp. minced garlic less or more to taste
- 4 carrots, peeled and sliced on diagonal thin
- 4 celery stocks, sliced on diagonal thin
- 1-2 tsp. each salt, pepper, thyme, coriander, oregano
- 96 ounces chicken stock, store-bought or homemade
- 1 rotisserie chicken
- 1 1/4 cup wild rice
- 2 cups spinach, chopped small optional
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On medium heat, add oil and butter to large sauce pan
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Add onions and saute until soft and wilty.
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Add the garlic and stir to cook for 30 sec.
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Add carrots, celery cook for about 5 min. until fork tender.
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Add herbs and chicken stock, bring up to a boil, add the wild rice and lower heat to simmer for about 45 min., stirring occasionally. This is a good time to add the bouillon cube if using.
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Add chicken to pot and let it warm up for 10 min. or so. If using, add spinach and let it wilt, stirring occasionally.
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Serve with parmesean crackers or croutons for added crunch.
