Quick and Easy Chicken, Mushroom and Rice Soup with Garlic Toast

A simple soup of rice, mushrooms and chicken, served with garlic rubbed toast

Soup is something which very often takes several hours or even overnight to make properly. Where you get in to the habit, however, of keeping some fresh stock in your freezer and perhaps have some leftover chicken to use up, a delicious soup such as this one can be prepared literally in minutes rather than hours.

Weighing out the rice for the soup

Ingredients (Serves Four)

2 pints fresh chicken stock
4oz basmati or long grain rice
6 medium closed cup mushrooms
Chicken meat from two whole legs or approximately 4oz
Small bunch flat leaf parsley (reserve four small sprigs to garnish)
4 thick slices of farmhouse bread
1 clove of garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Mushrooms are moderately thinly sliced

Directions

Pour the stock in to a large soup pot and put it on the heat to reach a simmer while you prepare the remainder of the ingredients.

Rice and mushrooms are added to the hot stock

Wash the rice in a sieve under running cold water to remove the excess starch. When the stock is simmering, add the rice and the mushrooms. Bring the liquid back to a simmer and stir well with a large wooden spoon. Continue to simmer for ten minutes.

Two whole chicken legs provide the meat for the soup

The easiest way by far to remove the chicken from the bones is by hand. Try to do so that each piece is a reasonable bite size.

Chicken meat is picked from the bones

When the rice and mushrooms have been simmering in the stock for ten minutes, add the chicken pieces and the very roughly chopped parsley. Stir well again and simmer for five more minutes.

Flat leaf parsley

The four slices of bread should be toasted golden on both sides. Rub the top of each slice with the crushed garlic clove.

Bread is cut to make garlic toast

Taste the soup and season as required. Ladle the soup in to serving plates or bowls, garnish with the parsley sprigs and serve immediately with the hot toast.

A final sprig of parsley garnishes the soup for service