With the current weather conditions outside, I decided to cook up a pot of chicken soup for myself and some friends. I chose a recipe from Chef Donald Link’s book titled, “Real Cajun”. I highly recommend Chef Link’s book to anyone interested in Louisiana style cooking or just cooking in general. I will present Chef Link’s recipe as published. At the end, I will include a couple of tweaks I do to the recipe.
Chicken and Rice Soup
• 1 roasted chicken
• 3 quarts chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons butter or reserved chicken fat
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 4 small carrots, diced
• 12 cremini mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 8 bay leaves
• 1 bunch scallions (green and white parts) chopped
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 to 3 cups cooked rice
If you have roasted the chicken yourself, set the drippings aside to allow the fat to rise to the surface. Pick the chicken meat from the bones (discard skin) and chop into ½-inch chunks, cover, and refrigerate. Transfer the chicken carcass to a stock-pot and add 3 quarts broth. Bring the broth to a boil, skim as necessary, reduce the heat to low, and then simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Strain the broth and reserve.
Heat 2 tablespoons of butter (or the same amount of chicken fat, skimmed from the top of the pan drippings) in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms, garlic, bay leaves, scallions, salt, pepper, and oregano and cook, stirring for a few minutes, until the vegetables soften; they should not brown. Add the strained chicken broth and the diced chicken. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken starts to break down and meld with the stock. When the soup is finished, add the rice, taste for seasonings and adjust salt and pepper as desired and serve.
My Take
After making the soup a few times, I have changed a few things to make the process a little easier and the soup more to my liking. Instead of roasting 1 chicken, I purchase 2 prepared rotisserie chickens from the store and use the meat of at least 1½ birds. Don’t discard the skin, your dogs will enjoy it. Cremini mushrooms are not readily available at my local HEB, so I pass on them. For the broth, I buy 2-48oz. Swanson chicken broths (one regular and one low sodium). I cut the oregano back to 1 ½ teaspoons.
Please enjoy this recipe and share a pot with your friends. It will serve 6 to 8 (or 4 cold and hungry fishermen).
Chicken and Rice Soup
• 1 roasted chicken
• 3 quarts chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons butter or reserved chicken fat
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 4 small carrots, diced
• 12 cremini mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 8 bay leaves
• 1 bunch scallions (green and white parts) chopped
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 to 3 cups cooked rice
If you have roasted the chicken yourself, set the drippings aside to allow the fat to rise to the surface. Pick the chicken meat from the bones (discard skin) and chop into ½-inch chunks, cover, and refrigerate. Transfer the chicken carcass to a stock-pot and add 3 quarts broth. Bring the broth to a boil, skim as necessary, reduce the heat to low, and then simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Strain the broth and reserve.
Heat 2 tablespoons of butter (or the same amount of chicken fat, skimmed from the top of the pan drippings) in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms, garlic, bay leaves, scallions, salt, pepper, and oregano and cook, stirring for a few minutes, until the vegetables soften; they should not brown. Add the strained chicken broth and the diced chicken. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken starts to break down and meld with the stock. When the soup is finished, add the rice, taste for seasonings and adjust salt and pepper as desired and serve.
My Take
After making the soup a few times, I have changed a few things to make the process a little easier and the soup more to my liking. Instead of roasting 1 chicken, I purchase 2 prepared rotisserie chickens from the store and use the meat of at least 1½ birds. Don’t discard the skin, your dogs will enjoy it. Cremini mushrooms are not readily available at my local HEB, so I pass on them. For the broth, I buy 2-48oz. Swanson chicken broths (one regular and one low sodium). I cut the oregano back to 1 ½ teaspoons.
Please enjoy this recipe and share a pot with your friends. It will serve 6 to 8 (or 4 cold and hungry fishermen).
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