Comforting soup packed with vegetables, rice, and (optional) chicken.
When I get knocked around a little by life, I head to the kitchen to make soup or to bake. I'm convinced that soup, cookies, and cake are the original comfort foods, not just as hugs from my own childhood, but from all the generations of women in my family that cooked in kitchens before me.
I made this soup last week for a friend who was ill, and wrote it up as an article for Ask Miss A web magazine. Yes, yes, yes, I know, it's written as a chicken rice soup, but I'm still cooking in my home for both vegetarians and carnivores, and really it's so easy to make it vegetarian. For generations, soup has been an efficient peasant food; a way to cook up scraps of vegetables, meat or fish in a broth, and frequently stretched with legumes, pasta, bread, rice or whole grains. Ribollita from Italy comes to mind, as does a Hungarian goulash made with meat, potatoes and noodles.
Cooking Notes:
- There’s a bit of prepping to do for this soup, but it comes together quickly, and some prepping can be done while the soup simmers on the stove.
- To save time, I buy a whole roasted chicken at my local market for this soup.
- Other grains can be substituted for the rice. I’ve made this soup using quinoa with great success.
Vegetable / Chicken and Rice Peasant Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 medium yellow onions chopped
- 1 large leek white and light green parts, thoroughly washed, and thinly sliced
- 2 large shallots minced
- 1 serrano chili seeded, minced
- 3 stalks of celery chopped
- 1 small carrot
- 12 cups vegetable broth preferably homemade
- 2 russet potatoes peeled, diced
- 3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt or 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2/3 cup uncooked rice well rinsed
- 1 avocado mashed
- Juice from 2 limes
- 1/2 cup Pecorino cheese plus more for garnish, grated
- 1 1/2 cup shredded roast chicken from 2 chicken breasts retaining the bones of the chicken
- 2 teaspoon dry sherry
Instructions
- Warm up the olive oil in a heavy, large pot suitable for making soup, over medium-high heat. Add the onions, leek, shallots, chili, celery and carrot, and sauté until soft, about 10 minutes.
- Add the broth and bring to a simmer. Add the potatoes, fresh thyme, salt, pepper, and rice. Add the bones from the chicken that the cooked breast meat was removed from. Stir in the mashed avocado and lime juice. Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the Pecorino cheese and roasted chicken, and simmer for 5 minutes longer. Stir in the sherry.
- Serve piping hot in soup bowls with a salad and hunk of crusty bread on the side.
Choc Chip Uru says
This soup looks so warming 🙂
Yum!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
The Wimpy Vegetarian says
Oh it is CCU. Next snowy day you have, you should totally make it. I think you’d really like it!
Rosemary says
Gorgeous photo, Susan! Love the blend of background textures and I can almost put my spoon into the soup!
The Wimpy Vegetarian says
Thanks so much Rosemary!! Soups aren’t always easy for me to photograph; something I’m really working on right now.
Rebecca says
Heading out to get the rest of the ingredients now. *I* am in the mood for a little comfort food myself!
Rebecca says
Wow — this is ridiculously good! I used (homemade) chicken broth, omitted the step with the bones, and used whole-wheat orzo because I had it on hand. Amazing! I was a tad concerned about the avocado and lime, but they add a light “zing.” This is going on my soup rotation. Thanks. 🙂
The Wimpy Vegetarian says
I’m sooooo excited that you made this soup so quickly, Rebecca!!! You really made my day. And I’m so glad you liked it. Yay!!! Yeah, the avocado adds a little *creaminess* without the cream, and the lime just sharpens those flavors. Best of all, it’s a forgiving soup, and welcomes little twists and shortcuts, as you found out. This was actually a riff on a quinoa soup I made a couple of years ago – which I still haven’t gotten around to adding to my blog 🙂 Someday I need to do that 🙂 Thanks again!!
Julia says
This soup looks so yummy and since spring still hasn’t arrive (and may never) I have time to make this!
The Wimpy Vegetarian says
Thanks Julia! It’s such a wild winter. Some areas of the country getting slammed, and we barely had any winter at all here in the Sierras. Crazy!
apuginthekitchen says
I could use a bowl of this soup right now, looks delicious Susan, You are so right, soup, cookies and cake are the ultimate comfort foods!
The Wimpy Vegetarian says
Thanks Suzanne! I was just over at your blog – I had no idea how poorly you’ve been feeling. And I’m so glad Nando is doing better. Hope you both are feeling back to normal soon. If we were neighbors, I would have brought some of this soup over to with your friend’s stuffed apple 🙂
TasteFood says
I could do with a bowl of this right now – so warm and comforting.
Cass @foodmyfriend says
Tyler always requests this in Winter. i guess it is nearly that time again!
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Spoonful of Comfort says
Preparing my ingredients for this soup now. I am sure my hubby will love it. He loves soups and is always excited to try something new.
The Wimpy Vegetarian says
Oh I hope you liked it!! We love soups too, and this is one we’ve really enjoyed!!