We’ve had some Fall-ish days lately. GLORIOUS! I am a summer lover for sure, but around August I am over it. My hair is over it. There are zero products out there to handle August at the beach Abbye hair. I’m not bitter about it or anything.
Maybe a little.
So as soon as we have a day that is below 80 degrees I start pulling out the cider + boots + soup!! Cider gives me an excuse to drink Hot Toddy’s every night. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT?? Boots just look cool and they are NOT FLIPFLOPS!! And soup? Soup is about the coziest thing ever ever.
I’m going to give you two options for this recipe. One for all of you that adore your animal proteins and one for those of you plant based friends. {I see you, loves!} This is also easily made GF.
This is one of those dishes that is great for a dinner party with a room full of different diet issues to accommodate. Every dinner party I have ever thrown has had this to work around and all of your loves deserve to be thought about enough to have options for them when they come to your house to be fed.
This one is about as easy as it gets! Fall and happy friends/bellies. HELLO!
The traditional version uses cooked shredded chicken and milk. The vegan version uses cooked shredded jackfruit and coconut milk. Both are fantastic. And if you haven’t tried Jackfruit yet, you absolutely should. Even if you aren’t vegan – it’s good to have a meat-free day regularly to give your gut some rest. Jackfruit is a magical thing that I discovered when I decided to become vegan-ish. It is miraculous as a vegan carnitas taco, a vegan pulled BBQ sandwich and in this soup as a shredded chicken substitute!
You can find Jackfruit at most Asian markets, Whole Foods or on Amazon. Be sure you get young Jackfruit that is packed in water and NOT in syrup.
{SO GOOD}
Here are all the details!
1/2 pound white button mushroom, sliced
4 tablespoon coconut oil (or butter)
2 1/2-3 quarts low sodium chicken OR vegetable stock
3 celery ribs, small diced
1 medium yellow onion, small diced
2 clove fresh garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian Seasoning
1/4 cup GF OR all purpose flour
1 cup heavy cream -OR- plain unsweetened coconut milk
2 cups cooked shredded chicken
1 14 ounce can young jackfruit packed in brine
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
1. Heat a large heavy dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat. Melt 2 tablespoons coconut oil or butter and add the celery, carrot and onion. Season with kosher salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 8 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Sprinkle the GF or AP flour and stir constantly about 3 minutes until the flour is cooked. Be careful not to burn the flour!
4. Add 2 1/2 quarts of hot chicken or vegetable stock and the Italian seasoning. Season with kosher salt. Add the rice and bring to a simmer. Cook about 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked to the point that makes you happy.
5. While the soup is simmering, heat a small fry pan over medium high heat and add the other 2 tablespoons of butter or coconut oil to the pan. Add the sliced mushrooms, season with a little kosher salt and cook until nicely browned and softened. Set aside until the soup is ready to serve.
6. If you are using Jackfruit, drain and rinse the fruit, add to a small pan heated over medium high heat with 1/2 cup vegetable stock. Season with a little salt and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Break up the fruit with a wooden spoon while it cooks, it will shred just like chicken does!
7. When the rice is cooked through, add the heavy cream or coconut milk and continue to simmer an additional 4-5 minutes. Adjust the seasoning with kosher salt and pepper.
8. Add the cooked and shredded chicken or jackfruit and the juice from 1 lemon. Stir and taste for seasoning.
9. To serve, top with the cooked mushrooms, chopped parsley and black pepper.
All photos by Matthew Ray.
