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How can the best chicken soup recipe make you feel better?Quite simply, the best chicken soup recipe contains everything you need to feel good, and nothing your body can object to. If
you aren't feeling well your body can have reactions to certain foods, especially dairy. Also, the neutral flavors of chicken
and the vegetables won't trigger a "gag" reflex if your tummy is upset. Lastly, it is substantial enough to give you
nutrition, but not heavy enough to require lots of energy to digest it. Ingredients
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped 1 stalk of celery, chopped 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely Salt and Pepper to taste A dash of olive oil A small pat of butter (optional) A cup or so of chopped, cooked white chicken meat, skin and fat removed Half a cup of chopped, cooked dark chicken meat, skin and fat removed, (optional) 6 cups of chicken stock or broth. Half a cup of pre-cooked rice (see notes below) Chopped or dried parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme (yes, just like the song!) Preparation1. Warm up your olive oil and butter in your soup pot on medium-low.2. Add the vegetables and a dash of salt. Add the garlic a minute or so later. Cook until the vegetables are soft and translucent. 3. A minute or so before the vegetables are done, add the sage, rosemary and thyme. 4. Add the chicken pieces and cook for a minute or two more. 5. Add the chicken stock and the pre-cooked rice. 6. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. 7. Add the parsley a minute or so before serving. Notes:You see how easy it is? Part of the reason this is my best chicken soup recipe is that there is nothing fancy or difficult going on! If you want to change it up, here are a couple of ideas:For a change in flavor, use dried or fresh tarragon in place of the classic herbs listed above. Add a bit more garlic if you do this, as it is a wonderful combination. I like to chop my vegetables in larger pieces than for cream soups, so the soup has some "body" to it. You can chop them finely if you like for a thinner soup. If your rice is not pre-cooked, you will need to add liquid to compensate. Add double the liquid by volume as you are adding rice, and reduce the amount of rice to about half. So to replace half a cup of pre-cooked rice, you should add a quarter cup of uncooked rice and half a cup of liquid (either water or additional stock or broth). Also, you need to increase the cooking time to about half an hour to allow the rice to cook. This means you may need to top up the liquid part way through cooking to compensate for evaporation. You can replace the rice with noodles of any sort. This turns it into my best chicken noodle soup recipe! Just add them about 7 to 10 minutes before serving to allow them to cook (will depend on the type and thickness of noodles). Simply cook until they are the desired tenderness. You can add other vegetables to this recipe for a change. One of my favorites is to add a handful of frozen peas about 5 minutes before serving. They have just enough time to cook through and still remain firm enough to have that wonderful "burst" of flavor in the mouth. Tips and TechniquesMy Best Chicken Soup Recipe is supposed to be healthy. So when it ends up with a bit more fat or oil than I intended I use a limp piece of lettuce to pull off the excess off the surface. Just drag it across the top of the soup, and the fat and oil will attach to it. The just throw away the lettuce, or give it to the dog!Return from Best Chicken Soup Recipe to Clear Soups
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