Rice

1 cup brown basmati rice or wild rice blend (soaked in water overnight with 1 tbsp of whey, yogurt of buttermilk)

1 ¾ to 2 cups chicken stock

½ tsp salt

 

Soup

1 large onion

2 medium carrots

1 stalk celery

1 leek, white part only

2 cups shimeji mushrooms

½ roasted chicken (or 3 cups hand-shredded chicken)

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

unrefined sea salt

½ tsp ground turmeric

6-7 cups chicken stock

fresh cracked black pepper

2 sprigs fresh tarragon

To cook the rice, drain, rinse and place the soaked rice in a large pot with the chickens stock. Add ½ tsp of salt and bring to boil, then lower the heat to simmer, cover and cook the rice for 45 minutes until the liquid has been absorbed. This can be prepared in advance.

To prepare your mise en place, peel and cut the onion, carrots, celery and leeks into medium dice. Then, cut the bottom of the shimeji mushrooms and hand shred the roasted chicken.

To cook the soup, melt butter and warm the olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the onion and season with salt. Sweat until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the carrot, celery and leeks and cook until the vegetables have softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the turmeric and cook for another 1 minute. Add 6 cups of the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Then add theshimeji mushrooms, the chicken and the rice. Cook until the mushrooms are cooked, and the rice and chicken are heated through. Check the soup if it needs more stock. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove from the heat.

To serve the soup, remove the tarragon leaves from the stem and add to the soup. Ladle the soup into individual soup bowls and serve immediately.

Notes:

Another way to cook this soup is to bring the chicken stock to a boil. Add the rice and reduce the heat to simmer. While the rice is cooking, sweat the other ingredients (onion, carrot, celery, leeks and turmeric) in another pan. When the rice is already cooked, add all the ingredients and simmer until everything is heated through. Season to taste and serve.

After removing the chicken from the bones, save the chicken bones to make chicken stock.