Chicken and Porcini Mushroom Soup with Turmeric and Sweet Smoked Paprika Rice Cakes

Chicken is a staple in our kitchen and a whole roasted chicken is a typical Sunday night meal. We’re in waste not – want not mode, so this week’s roasted chicken leftovers were repurposed into Chicken and Porcini Mushroom Soup. We happened to have day old rice in the fridge and decided to make griddled rice cakes to go along with the soup, but you could always add noodles or a wild rice blend for added texture and flavor.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 lb Whole chicken, roasted and meat removed. (Optional: Reserve carcass for homemade chicken broth)
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 Tablespoon mild olive oil
• 1 Teaspoon Fennel Seeds
• 4 Large carrots
• 2 Medium yellow onions
• 1 Medium head of celery (including greens)
• 1 inch fresh ginger, skinned and minced (can also use ½ teaspoon Ginger Powder)
• 6 Cloves of garlic
• 2 Bay Leaves
• Peppercorn Blend and Himalayan Salt to taste
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups dried Porcini Mushrooms
• Fresh parsley to garnish

PREPARATION

• Roast a 3lb whole chicken following packaging directions and seasoned to your liking. I stuff my chicken with quartered onions and lemons, a few sprigs of rosemary and 3-5 smashed cloves of garlic, coat the exterior in Greek Seasoning and surround the chicken with sliced onions.

• Allow the chicken to cool and remove meat for later use

• OPTIONAL: You can use the carcass for a homemade chicken broth. To make a chicken broth put the carcass in a Crock-Pot, add 2 quartered onions, 4 carrots cut into quarters, 3 pieces of celery cut in half, 2 bay leaves, 6 cloves of smashed garlic, any drippings from the cooked chicken (including roasted onions!) and enough water to cover the chicken carcass. Set the Crock-Pot to an 8 hour or 10 hour cook time and let it do its magic.

• OPTIONAL: When the Crock-Pot is done, strain the broth. Use a pasta strainer for the first pass and then use cheese cloth. Set the broth aside to cool. The broth freezes well and will last for at least 6 months. You should have roughly 6 cups of broth.

• Warm the butter and olive oil in a large, heavy bottom pot with a lid at medium low temperature.

• Add the fennel seeds to the pot.

• Cut the carrots into quarters and cut into ¼ inch pieces and add to the pot.

• Peel and chop the onions and add them to the pot.

• Cut the celery into ¼ inch pieces and add to the pot, including the greenery.

• Peel and mince the ginger.

• Peel and mince the garlic.

• Season with salt and pepper, mix the pot contents to coat with butter and oil, add the bay leaves and cover the pot for 2 minutes.

• Add the Porcini mushrooms.

• Add the broth.

• Add the chicken meat, give the pot a stir, reduce heat to low and cover for 20 minutes.

• Serve with rice cakes, noodles or simply garnished with parsley.

Rice Cakes:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup of cooked day old basmati rice
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon Smoked Sweet Paprika

PREPARATION

• Mix all ingredients and set aside.
• Add 1/2 tablespoon of butter to a warming griddle (we used a cast iron pan at medium-high heat).
• Make 1 inch rounds of the rice mixture and press them flat on the griddle. Brown for 1-2 minutes on each side.