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Chicken soup with cream and red rice

Delightful chicken broth, a bunch of vegetables, nutty red rice enriched with cream and zesty lemon.

This is the soup full of flavor! Creamy chicken soup with rich cream, healthy red rice and really a lot of vegetables is a staple in our house. It's so satisfying and convenient! I really like to add red rice into the soup because of the health benefits that it provides. It's slightly nutty and is firmer than regular white rice, so after you cook it in a broth it stays nice and crunchy. It's like biting into a tiny nut in the soup...

Why to use red rice?

Red rice has a wonderful kind of reddish color and stays nice and chewy after cooking, so it doesn't stick together. This rice has a slightly nutty flavor, which goes really great with any vegetable. It's really versatile afterwards, use it in salads with veggies and cheeses (crumble goat cheese would be really tasty!), add it to your favorite soup to make it more filling or try to combine with Basmati rice and serve with curry. On a sweet note, it adds a nice crunch into your morning cinnamon oatmeal or try making a red rice pudding for some special occasions.

Because it's whole grain it provides a lot of fiber, which is essential for our gut health. Besides, red rice is a rich source of iron, calcium, magnesium and antioxidant levels. It also has a lower glycemic index compared to regular white rice. That means that the energy will be slowly released after eating and you won't be hungry so soon.

Benefits of soaking grains

I really recommend soaking your grains and legumes overnight before cooking. While you soak your grains overnight, it activates enzymes that break the phytic acidThis helps to make your grains more digestible and the nutrients contained are better absorbed by our bodies. The red rice, while it has its beautiful color, unfortunately it colors the water while cooking. So the best way is to cook the red rice separately from the rest of the ingredients and add in the dish afterwards. If you soak your grains overnight it also cuts down the time of cooking approximately by half! So while dry grains cook for about 40 minutes, after soaking it's done in 20 minutes.

Phytic acid is an antioxidant found in varying quantities in all edible seeds, grains, legumes and nuts and some fruit. It's an indigestible substance for us but it impairs mineral absorption, so our bodies cannot fully absorb those minerals. For better mineral absorption you can soak (in water with vinegar or lemon juice), sprout or ferment the grains (sourdough). Phytic acid is also reduced with heat while cooking.

Which vegetable can you use into creamy chicken soup?

I usually add cubes of carrots, celery stalks, little onion and a lot of leek into this amazing soup! But you make it with vegetable that you like or have in the fridge. I just love versatile recipes! Try making soup with squash or sweet potato instead of carrots, and with parsnip or celeriac instead of celery stalks! Add sliced mushrooms or even zucchini with aubergine. Finally you can add a few handfuls of frozen corn or peas and sprinkle with chopped basil or rosemary .

The amount of cream and roux can also vary! Add more roux if you want to have your soup creamier and add more cream for a richer and more decadent variation!

What is a roux?

Roux is simply flour and fat cooked together for thickening sauces and soups. With adding roux you can make the creamiest soup ever! Typically roux is made from equal parts of flour and fat, roughly 2 tablespoons of butter to 2 tablespoons of flour.

Making roux is really nothing complicated - just melt butter in a pan, add all the flour and whisk until it's smooth and cooked. A few minutes of stirring is enough, otherwise you make brown roux but we want the roux to be on the lighter side for this soup.

What to use instead of a homemade broth?

You can find some high quality chicken broth in a supermarket these days, so you can buy those. But I am really into making my own homemade broth from chicken or bones or even just vegetables. It's really easy, more nutritious and flavorful and also cheaper than a store bought.

How to make chicken soup with cream and red rice?

First cook rice according to the package instructions. In a large pot, saute diced carrots, celery, and onion in the melted butter (ghee or olive oil) until the vegetables are tender. Meanwhile, slice leek and dice garlic and add it to the pot along with all the Italian seasoning, thyme, bay leaf and a little bit of salt and pepper. Stir occasionally to prevent burning and saute together for about 5 minutes.

After that, add broth of your choosing and if it's homemade, add also 1 little teaspoon of salt. Let simmer for about 15-20 minutes. By this time your rice should be done cooking, so rinse and drain the excess water and add the rice straight into soup along with chicken pieces and cream.

Make roux while simmering soup. Melt butter in a pan, add flour and whisk until smooth and cooked. Then add a ladle of soup (mostly liquid part) into the pan and whisk. Then add the second ladle of soup and whisk and then add the third ladle and whisk until smooth. Then you can finally add your diluted roux into the soup. Please don't skip the dilution steps. If so, you'll end up with a lot of lumps in your soup.

To finish the soup, add zest and juice of half a lemon and diced parsley to garnish. Season with more salt and pepper if needed. Don't be afraid of using lemon in this soup, it makes it nice and fresh.

Videorecept:

TIPS:

If you don't have enough meat from the bones, you can add a chicken breast into your soup.

How to add meat?

Poaching In a large pot heat broth just below boiling point, add chicken breast and let it poach for about 8-10 minutes. Then take it out on a board and let sit for a few minutes, thinly slice after that. Use the broth according to the recipe and add sliced chicken breast as the meat from the bone to reheat.
With this method chicken breast is juicy and tender and the broth is even flavorful.
Frying Slice the chicken breast and fry in a large pot along with carrots and celery. While frying the crust on the meat develops so it stays juicy inside.

Recipe

Recipe – 6 servings

Chicken soup with cream and red rice

Ingredients:

⦁ 1,7 l chicken or bone broth
⦁ chicken meat from the bones
⦁ 2 tbsp olive oil or ghee
⦁ 2 stalks of celery, chopped
⦁ 2 medium carrots, chopped
⦁ 1 small onion, diced
⦁ 1 leek, only the white part, sliced
⦁ 1 large bay leaf
⦁ 1 tsp Italian seasoning
⦁ 0,5 tsp thyme
⦁ 100-200 ml heavy cream
⦁ 150 g red rice
⦁ zest and juice from half a lemon
⦁ 2 tbsp (30 g) white flour
⦁ 2 PL (30 g) butter
⦁ parsley for garnish
⦁ salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Cook the rice according to the package instructions. It should take about 45 minutes (soaked rice will be done sooner).
2. Heat a good lug of oil into a large pot. Add diced carrots, celery, and onion and saute until the vegetables are tender. This should take 5-10 minutes. You can also add a pinch of salt along with the vegetables, so they release their juices and cook faster.
3. Slice leek and dice garlic and add it to the pot along with all the Italian seasoning, thyme, bay leaf and little salt and pepper. Stir occasionally to prevent burning and saute together for about 5 minutes.
4. After that, add broth of your choosing and if it's homemade, add also 1 little teaspoon of salt. Let simmer for about 15-20 minutes. By this time your rice should be done cooking, so rinse and drain the excess water and add the rice straight into soup along with chicken pieces and cream.
5. Make roux while simmering soup. Melt butter in a pan, add flour and whisk until smooth and cooked. Then add a ladle of soup (mostly liquid part) into the pan and whisk. Then add the second ladle of soup and whisk and then add the third ladle and whisk until smooth. Then you can finally add your diluted roux into the soup.
6. To finish the soup, add zest and juice of half a lemon and diced parsley to garnish. Season with more salt and pepper if needed.