Chicken and Rice Soup

Tuan is feeling a little under the weather this weekend and I wanted to make something to help him feel better. He had asked for some store bought chicken noodle soup. Well, I wanted to do one better than that and make some home made soup! So I found this really simple and easy chicken and rice soup that looked delicious enough that even I wanted a bowl. And I was super excited about the different herb combinations listed in the ingredients, it sounded like a really hearty and rustic soup that could be served with a gigantic chunk of crusty bread.

Ingredients:
1 large whole organic free range chicken (as with my previous post, I prefer organic chicken to make the broth)
1 teaspoon kosher salt, add more to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 stalks of celery, trimmed and diced
2 medium leeks, light green and white part only diced
2 medium carrots, diced
10 sprigs fresh leave parsley
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leave
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup white rice, cooked per the instructions on the package

Cut the chicken into 8 pieces, rinse well under cold water and thoroughly pat dry. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large dutch oven or large pot over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the chicken and saute until well browned, about 6 to 8 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken from the pan and pour out any fat left in the pan. Lower the heat to medium-low, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the celery, leeks, and carrots, saute for 10 minutes until soft.

Tie the parsley sprigs, thyme and bay leaf with a piece of kitchen twine and add to the pot. Add in the cooked chicken and the chicken broth. Bring the soup to a boil and then adjust the heat to low to maintain a gentle simmer, cook covered for 25 minutes. Remove the chicken and herb bundle. Skim any excess fat from the surface of the soup and continue to simmer on low heat. When the chicken is cool enough to handle remove the meat from the bones and cut into 1-inch chunks. Add the meat back to the soup and add the cooked rice. Cook until the meat and rice are heated through. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.