TOMATO RICE SOUP
(p.s. you can tell my husband definitely did not take this picture! sigh, eventually I'll get better)
One of my favorite soups – this was sooo easy, quick and healthy! A real time saver, especially on those cold rainy days when you are craving homemade soup. Most of the time I use homemade chicken stock….but it is always handy to have organic store bought chicken stock on hand when you don’t have homemade.
2 Tblsp. Olive oil
1 large onion – roughly chopped
4 minced garlic cloves
2 diced celery stalks with leaves
1 28 oz. Can whole tomatoes (with juice)
3 cups chicken broth
1 tsp. Thyme
2 big tsp. Fennel
3 bay leaves (mine were small to medium size)
salt and pepper
½ cup cooked long grain rice
Optional: handful of chopped spinach, or collard greens, or kale.
In a pot bring ½ cup rice to 1 cups water to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook about 15 min. or until rice has absorbed all the liquid. Once cooked remove from the heat and set aside.
Add olive oil to a pot, low to medium heat. Add onion, garlic and celery – sautéing to sweat out. Add the seasonings, and stir to blend. Then add the tomatoes with juice (break up the tomatoes with a spoon), chicken stock, and any greens. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer, about 30 minutes.
Remove from heat – allow to cool about 10 minutes. Spoon all the veggies into a food processor and blend till smooth. Remove the bay leaves from the broth, add in the pureed vegetables, and the cooked rice stirring to blend. Return to a low heat to heat through – adjust any seasonings.
Served with grill cheese – perfect for lunch or dinner
Note: fresh tomatoes would be lovely too. Have you ever noticed, that the whole canned tomatoes have more flavor than the diced ones??
I am making some stock right now and can't wait to try this soup!
Karen - hope you enjoy! Ina