Tis the season for soup and I couldn’t be happier and the creamier the better!
Here's a supremely filling, hearty soup. I serve this up on cold rainy days with a loaf of homemade bread or for a fun but delicious treat, in a semi hollowed-out sour bread bowl. Simply cut a center circle out with a bread knife, using your hands, pull the top off and scooped a little of the soft centerpieces out to create a bowl. Use the extra bread for dipping in your soup you can even eat the whole bread bowl if you are super hungry.
This soup is so warm and comforting I crave it because of the cream, or when I feel like I'm coming down with a cold. The creamy broth is soothing in ways chicken noodle soup just can’t. The freshness of making this soup from scratch rather than a can really make a huge difference in the flavor. The fresh carrot, onion, celery, and fresh herbs in the broth set this soup apart and awwwwwww boy is it delicious.
This is perfect for leftover rotisserie chicken or chicken you've pulled from the bone after making homemade chicken stock!
This recipe yields 8 servings
Ingredients
3/4 cup uncooked wild rice blend
1 cup chopped yellow onion (from about 1 small onion)
1 cup diced carrots (from 2 medium carrots
1 cup diced celery (from 2-3 stalks)
7 tbs butter, diced, divided
1 clove garlic, minced
4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 tsp dried thyme, marjoram, sage, and rosemary
salt and pepper, to taste
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp lemon zest
Instructions
1. Prepare rice according to the directions listed on the package.
2. Halfway through the rice cooking, in a separate large pot, melt 1 Tbsp butter over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery and saute until slightly tender, about 4 minutes, adding in garlic during the last 30 seconds of sauteing. Add chicken broth, thyme, marjoram, sage, rosemary, and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Increase heat to medium-high, add chicken,
and bring mixture to a boil. Cover pot with lid and allow mixture to boil 12 - 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through (rotating chicken to opposite side once during cooking for thicker chicken breasts - if they don't fully immerse in broth). Remove chicken and set aside on cutting board to cool 5 minutes then shred into small bite-size pieces.
Meanwhile, reduce heat to low and add cooked rice. Add shredded chicken to soup.
3. In a separate medium saucepan (I just rinsed and wiped out the rice pan), melt remaining 6 Tbsp butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook 1 1/2 minutes, whisking constantly. Then, while whisking vigorously, slowly pour milk into butter/flour mixture. Cook mixture, stirring constantly until it thickens. Add milk mixture to soup mixture in pot and cook about 5 minutes longer, or until soup is thickened (at this point, you can simmer the soup for a longer period of time if you want the rice to soften more, just cover with lid first and stir occasionally. You can also add what's left in the remaining can of chicken broth). Stir in heavy cream and lemon zest and serve warm.
