Lemon Chicken Soup with Rice

 

1–2 Tbsp. butter or oil

2 ribs celery, diced

1 large yellow onion, diced

2–3 cloves garlic, minced

½ tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. dried dill

8 cups chicken broth

¼ cup uncooked rice

2 cups shredded, cooked chicken

2 cups finely chopped kale leaves

2–4 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

 

Heat large stock pot to medium heat.  Add oil or butter.  Add chopped celery, and onion.  Saute 3-4 minutes until tender.  Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds more. Stir in salt, pepper and dill.  Add broth, stirring to scrape any bits off the bottom of pot.

Bring soup to a boil and reduce to a low simmer. Add rice and stir occasionally until cooked through (about 20 minutes.)

While soup is simmering, wash kale leaves and use a sharp knife to remove leaves from stems. Holding leaves tightly together, finely chop into very small pieces.

After rice is cooked through, add chicken and kale and stir for 1-2 minutes until chicken is heated through and kale is wilted.  Remove soup from heat and stir in lemon juice to taste. (A little grated lemon zest would be good, too!)

Makes about 8 cups of soup, and even though it’s broth-based, with the rice absorbing liquid, it can become quite thick the longer it cooks.  If you’d like to thin it out a bit, or extend serving sizes, feel free to add more broth to your liking.

This recipe can be found here.