Community Voices for Health

By: Tanya Pimental

Spring is technically here, but alas it was twenty degrees when the kids let for school this morning.  Temperatures like that make me crave soup. With plans to grocery shop already on my agenda, I started to think about putting something together that wasn’t full on winter comfort food, but would fill our bellies with warmth.  This soup is a great way to transition from winter to spring. I even have high hopes for the left-overs tomorrow.

Ingredients:

• 64 oz. low sodium chicken broth
• 3 chicken breasts
• 4 lemons
• 1 small vidalia onion
• 3 carrots
• 1.5 cups long grain rice
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 eggs
• Salt and pepper

I started out by bringing the chicken broth to a boil and added the chicken. Salt and pepper. I boiled it until done, which was about 45 minutes.  Meanwhile, I roasted the garlic in the oven at 375 degrees, covered in olive oil.

Remove the chicken and reduce the broth to low heat, and add in the diced carrots and onion.  Mash the garlic and add it to the pot as well with ½ cup of lemon juice. Add 1.5 cups of long grain rice. Let the chicken rest and cool while you simmer the broth for another 30 minutes to cook the rice and veggies. Shred up the chicken and add back to the soup, and toss in the baby spinach.

In a bowl, beat together the eggs and ½ cup of lemon juice. Add a little bit of the hot broth to the egg/lemon mixture slowly so it warms the egg/lemon but doesn’t cook the eggs. Then add the egg/lemon mixture very slowly while stirring it into the broth, keeping it off the heat. Mix well. 

If the soup is too thick, thin by adding water or additional broth.  I did have to add an extra cup of water to mine.

Serve with warm, crusty bread and enjoy!