Creamy Chicken Soup with Rice
I found this recipe in a magazine once and I absolutely love it! I used to make it sometimes before Saturday night Mass, except I’d add the broth, bring to a boil, turn off the stove, THEN stir in the rice. The rice cooked in the residual heat, and I just stirred in the cream when we got home and served. Because the rice soaked up so much broth, though, it came out more like a chowder, but I liked it that way. After we moved to the farm and started raising our own chickens, I stopped using chicken breast, too. Instead, I boiled a chicken for stock, pulled off the meat, and used both the homemade stock and the meat for the soup. You still want to coat it with the flour as best you can, though, because that flour mixture really makes the soup.
I found this recipe in a magazine once and I absolutely love it! I used to make it sometimes before Saturday night Mass, except I’d add the broth, bring to a boil, turn off the stove, THEN stir in the rice. The rice cooked in the residual heat, and I just stirred in the cream when we got home and served. Because the rice soaked up so much broth, though, it came out more like a chowder, but I liked it that way. After we moved to the farm and started raising our own chickens, I stopped using chicken breast, too. Instead, I boiled a chicken for stock, pulled off the meat, and used both the homemade stock and the meat for the soup. You still want to coat it with the flour as best you can, though, because that flour mixture really makes the soup.
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 cup cream
- 1/2 pound chicken breast pieces cut in 1/2 inch dice (or cooked chicken from chicken broth)
- 1 rib celery diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 3/4 cup uncooked long grain rice
- Carbohydrate 223.289781850521 g
- Cholesterol 5931.9542878076 mg
- Fat 1205.46982759691 g
- Fiber 12.1988109708196 g
- Protein 1445.16984170814 g
- Saturated Fat 376.470352377092 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Recipe (8560g)
- Sodium 5877.12963628297 mg
- Sugar 211.090970879701 g
- Trans Fat 100.930195510411 g
- Calories 17891 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large plastic bag or a bowl, combine flour, oregano, pepper and salt.
- Shake or stir in chicken pieces to coat.
- In a heavy pot, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter and stir in all the chicken and flour at once.
- Stir often until chicken and flour are lightly browned, about 2-3 minutes.
- Set chicken aside.
- Add remaining butter to pan and saute vegetables for about a minute.
- Stir in chicken and cook until onions are softened.
- Then add chicken stock and rice.
- Bring to a boil.
- Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in cream.
- Serve with lots of fresh, hot, buttered bread.
Controlling Texture and Thickness
Heavy-bottomed pots are mandatory here because scorching happens rapidly once dairy enters the pot. Whole milk or half-and-half can replace heavy cream at a 1:1 ratio if lighter results are desired. Long-grain varieties hold their structural integrity better than short-grain types, resisting mushiness during the 20-minute simmer phase. Storing leftovers requires rapid cooling within two hours to prevent bacterial growth in dairy-heavy broths.Stretching Ingredients Efficiently
Whole bone-in cuts yield superior flavor compared to plain breasts while costing significantly less per pound. Simmering carcasses with aromatic scraps extracts collagen that adds body without requiring extra thickeners. Dice vegetables to uniform 1/4-inch cubes so they cook simultaneously with the grain. Utilizing leftover roasted poultry bypasses the initial browning step entirely when using pre-cooked protein.
