Polish Tomato Soup with Rice
I pretty much grew up eating eating “Zupa Pomidorowa z Ryżem” or Tomato Soup with Rice. I lived in an area with lots of Polish people and every day after school one of the mums or grandmothers always had home-made soup, usually this one, for all of us to eat before we spent the rest of the afternoon playing into the night! Now my own children ask for it, especially when they’re not feeling well, which says a lot about how satisfying, wholesome and comforting it is. The rice is optional of course but it’s the way we always had it so I can’t imagine it without it. Blending the chicken adds more complexity to the soup and makes it a bit richer without having to add cream. It certainly makes it a nice, hearty meal, it’s very toddler friendly and great for baby too from around 10 months.
INGREDIENTS:
600g chicken wings
1 leek, sliced
3-4 medium carrots, chopped roughly
2-3 celery sticks, chopped roughly
Good handful of fresh parsley
1kg fresh tomatoes, peeled
2-3 Tbs tomato paste
Cooked white rice (normally half a cup of cooked rice for each soup bowl)
Salt and pepper
Sour cream or creme fraiche to serve, optional
METHOD:
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and add your chicken wings. I use a 5.2L pot and add enough water so it’s around 4cm from the top ( and allowing for adding in the vegetables later). Boil for a few minutes and then reduce to a simmer, cooking the wings for about 10 minutes.
Add your chopped leek, carrots, celery and parsley and simmer with the lid on for around 1-2 hours.
Remove the chicken wings with some tongs and place them into a bowl to cool. Remove the parsley and most of the celery and discard into compost. You can leave the rest of the veggies in there.
Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, pick away the cooked flesh from the bones and put it back into the pot. Reserve your chicken bones in the fridge or freezer to make a bone broth another time, or discard.
Add your peeled tomatoes to the pot, and the tomato paste, and simmer for another hour or so.
Allow the soup to cool a little and then place it into a blender or food processor, and blend until it’s completely smooth. You may need to do this in two batches. Then pour it back into your pot. It should taste rich and tomato-ey, with a background chicken flavour. Season with salt and pepper to your liking.
To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and mix in around 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the the cooked white rice into each bowl. The consistency should still be soupy, not sludgy.
Serve with sour cream or creme fraiche if you wish.
We love this soup of cold, rainy days or when one of us is feeling a little under the weather. It makes everything better.
Notes:
This soup is wonderful to make in the summer when tomatoes are in season.
Sometimes, we swap out the ride for small macaroni to mix things up!
I like to freeze a few portions for emergency days when we need a nourishing meal without the hassle.
This is a wonderful, grounding soup for new mums too.