top of page

April 15th, 2016

Lemon Chicken 

Brown rice soup

with Kale

You'll love this recipe! Not only is it healthy, it's delicious too! Give it to your fussiest eater and I bet you they love it! 

 

The only ingredients you'll need for this recipe: brown rice, kale, chicken, lemon, soup stock, shallots, fresh garlic, fresh thyme, fresh parsley, salt & pepper and paprika. Pretty basic... right? You can even add carrots if you want to get in that daily dose of orange veggies. Or sometimes I improvise by adding chopped celery leaves which are rich in calcium, vitamins & minerals and are full of terrific flavor.

Always start cooking your brown rice first, as it will take the longest. Brown rice usually takes about 30 min. to cook. The good thing is, once it gets going, it needs no more attention until the end. I like to fry my rice in 1 Tbs of (unsalted) butter & 1/4 tsp of sea salt on medium-high for a couple of min. before adding my liquid, to give it a little extra flavour. Boil your 1/2 cup of rice with 1 1/2 cups of vegetable or chicken broth. In the picture above I've used powdered veggie broth from a can. Once your liquid has started boiling, lower the heat and let simmer until liquid has been absorbed. Take pot off element and fluff w/ fork.

Use fresh garlic cloves instead of the jarred alternative, you'll notice a big difference in taste. And chop it as oppose to pressing it through a garlic press. Also, you can subsitute shallots for regular cooking onions, but shallots are so much tastier.

 

 

Finely chop your fresh parsley and remove your thyme leaves from its stalk. Remove leaves by holding the top and running your fingers down the stem. I've heard another easy way is to dry them out in the microwave in 30 second increments until dry (not brittle) & the leaves will then seperate from the twig easily. No need to chop the thyme as the leaves are already small enough.

 

Get all your prepping done first (trust me), you don't want anything over-cooking/burning while you're chopping up your next ingredient.

 

Make sure to finely chop your kale (especially for kids). I find that the more the kale looks like a spice and less like a big green swampy thing, the more appealing it is for the little ones to eat... that probably goes for a lot of adults too. And it also helps if you don't have to chew anything soggy in your yummy soup. 

 


In a large pot, start by cooking your 5 shallot onions in 2 TBS of extra virgin olive oil (which is great for you) on med. high heat for about 2-3 minutes before adding your garlic and kale. You'll notice that the shallots brown in no time when they're finely chopped. Season w/ a few dashes of sea salt & (fresh ground) pepper.

Now that you've added your 2 cups of kale & 4-5 chopped garlic cloves, cook for another 2-3 minutes (until the leaves start to wilt) and add your bunch of chopped parsley & 4 sprigs of thyme. Frying your kale for a few minutes in the olive oil before adding the stock will infuse it with delicious flavors from your fried onions, garlic & spices. Add cooked chicken at the same time and fry for another 2 minutes. If you're using raw chicken, cut into smaller pieces and cook at the same time as your onions. In this example I used leftovers from my roasted chicken dinner. Season everything again with a few more dashes of sea salt & pepper.

 

Now, add to your pot 6 cups of chicken broth and season with a few good dashes of paprika for extra delicious taste and health booster. And don't worry, if you're not a big fan of spicy food, even with a few big dashes of this stuff, your soup will still not taste spicy.

 

Paprika is an anti-inflammatory, antioxiadant, antibacterial spice that is loaded with Vitamins A, B6, C, & E, carotanoids and iron. I use it in everything!

 

Right after you add broth & paprika you can add your 1/2 cup of brown rice & juice of 2 fresh lemons and bring to a boil. You can then lower the heat & let your soup simmer for another 15 min. or just let cool & serve. Bon appétit

 

Lemons are powerhouses when it comes to bringing out the flavour of other foods. They are also phytonutrients with antioxidant, antibiotic, and anti-cancer properties!

 

Prep Time
Cook Time
5 min.
15 min.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Cooked Brown Rice

Chicken

Shallots

Fresh Garlic Cloves

Salt & Pepper

Paprika

Fresh Thyme

Fresh Parsley

Chicken Broth

Lemon

In a large pot, start by cooking your 5 shallot onions and raw chicken pieces in 2 TBS of oil on med. high heat for about 2-3 minutes. Add your 2 cups of kale & 4-5 large garlic cloves, cook for another 2-3 minutes (until the leaves start to wilt) and add your bunch of chopped parsley & 4 sprigs of thyme. Season w/ 1 tsp of sea salt & 1 tsp of pepper and a few good dashes of paprika. Add 6 cups of broth & 1/2 cup of brown rice to your pot and bring to a boil. Add the juice of 2 whole lemon. Lower your heat and simmer for a few minutes. This recipe is great for freezing too!

If you'd like any additional information or if there's something I might have forgotten to mention, please feel free to comment or message me.

bottom of page