A Deliciously Tasty Lemon Rice Soup Recipe
If you want a hearty soup that can make you feel good under the weather, it is time to embrace the lemon rice soup recipe. With lots of leftovers and ingredients around the home, the lemon rice soup recipe is easier to make than you think. You can make this soup in just a half hour with quick ingredients.
What is Lemon Rice Soup?
If you’ve never heard of lemon rice soup, it does embody the two ingredients in its name, plus a collection of root vegetables, eggs, and leftover chicken in most recipes. You can opt to keep this vegetarian if you wish, or even choose a different meat if you aren’t the biggest fan of chicken.
This soup has roots in Greek culture, as it has been used for several hundred years to gather leftovers after large feasts and bring it together to reduce the amount of food waste. This makes this an affordable soup great for family dinners that need a quick and easy night.
These flavors make a soup that tastes good and is packed full of nutritional value. The amount of vitamin C, vitamin K and other essential vitamins are enough to help you when you are feeling sick and need something easy on your stomach. This is a great alternative to chicken noodle soup.
Gathering Your Ingredients
While you have some of your ingredients at home, you may have to run to the supermarket for the remaining items.
- Two pounds of leftover cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken
- Two large juiced lemons
- One cup of rice
- Six cups of chicken or vegetable broth
- Two eggs
- One large carrot diced
- One yellow onion diced
- Two celery ribs sliced
- One teaspoon of Italian seasoning
- One bay leaf
- Two tablespoons of olive oil
- Sliced fresh dill
The lemon, rice, and egg are essential to this soup, so you cannot make a vegan version. However, you can keep it vegetarian and add mushrooms to replace that meaty texture.
Substitutions
When you make this soup, you can substitute the chicken for leftover turkey if you have it instead. It will make just as well and is a great option after a large Thanksgiving feast when you have these items lying around.
Also, if you want to avoid using so much broth with sodium, either opt for the low-sodium option or toss in a chicken bouillon cube with six cups of water. The fresh dill at the end is optional, so you can omit it if you don’t want it.
Begin Building Your Soup
Once you have gathered all your necessary ingredients, it is time to start building your lemon rice soup with chicken.
1. Prepare Your Veggies
Now that you are ready to start making your soup, you must get your veggies cleaned up and cut. After removing all the excess dirt, peel your carrots and chop them into almost equal cuts. Go ahead and cut your celery ribs, making them similar in size.
You will want your onion to cook to a translucent state, so make sure you dice it into small pieces. They will spread throughout the soup and embellish the flavor. Also, if you plan to use fresh dill at the end of the dish, give it is fine to chop and then put it back in the fridge until you need it.
2. Start Shredding Your Chicken
Whether you use leftover chicken or a rotisserie, shred all your chicken first and put it in a bowl. You will not have time for it to break down in this recipe. You can use as much as you like during this step but then set it aside until you need it later.
3. Make Your Egg Mixture
In a small bowl, crack your eggs and mix with the juice of two lemons. You want to mix them well, almost like you are scrambling the eggs. Ensure your bowl is big enough to add later before adding to the soup.
4. Saute Away
Now that you have prepared your ingredients add olive oil to your soup pot and turn your burner on medium heat. Give the oil 30 seconds to warm, then add onions; wait a minute, and add garlic. Let these two cook on their own for a couple of minutes before adding the rest of the diced veggies. These must cook for about five minutes, and you should stir frequently to keep them from burning on the bottom.
5. Broth and Rice
Now that your veggies are tender, it is time to add a cup of uncooked rice and broth to the soup. Also, add your bay leaf to the pot. Turn the heat up to high long enough for the rice to start boiling, and then turn it back down to a simmer. Cover your soup, and set the timer for 15 minutes.
6. Thicken Up Your Soup
Once your rice has cooked through, it is time to take some of that broth and add it to the egg and lemon juice mix you made earlier. Give it a good stir and watch it start to thicken. When this happens, add the entire bowl to your soup and mix it all up. You should see your soup thicken without adding flour or cornstarch in just a minute.
7. Bring it All Together
Before adding the rest of the ingredients, fish out the bay leaf and add it to your recycling. Add the shredded chicken and Italian seasonings to the pot and stir it. You will also need to add as much salt and pepper as you like in this stage and any additional lemon juice if you want more of that flavor. Let it cook on a simmer for about five minutes.
8. Simmer and Serve
Now that your soup is ready, all left to do is ladle it into your soup bowls and garnish with fresh dill if your diner prefers. Some like a lot of dill, while others do not. Turn the burner off on your soup and let it cool.
If you have any leftovers, they are great in the refrigerator for the next three days. When you cook it, reheat it on the stove with medium heat, stirring frequently to get the heat through, and then serve.
While you could store it in the freezer to last longer, the texture will be different if it freezes with the egg and will not have the same consistency when you reheat it. This is not recommended, but if you still want to give it a try, seal it in a freezer-safe bag and then let it thaw before reheating.
