This recipe is not only delicious and full of goodness but it is a very elegant soup that would really impress your friends and family. It ticks all the boxes and is a meal in itself. Serve this with some lovely warm sourdough with butter and you will leave the table feeling truly nourished!

Ingredients
4 tbsp butter
2 large carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 shallots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp roughly chopped fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 litre Carol’s Stock Market Chicken Stock
2 chicken breasts
150g long grain & wild rice blend, rinsed
90g fresh spinach
150ml fresh cream
30g grated parmesan, plus extra for serving
Salt & pepper
3x 160g punnets mixed mushrooms
Olive oil
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
Zest from 1 lemon

Serves
3-4

Method
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Once melted, add the carrots, celery, shallots, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the celery and shallots are tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, thyme, and bay leaf and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add Carol’s chicken stock, the chicken breasts and rice. Season lightly with a bit more salt and a pinch of black pepper.

Bring to a boil over high heat then reduce heat, once boiling, reduce heat to medium low and cover pot with a lid and leave to cook until the rice is cooked through, 25-30 minutes (or as the rice packaging instructs), stirring occasionally as it cooks. Tip: Some scum might rise to the surface from the chicken, skim this off with a spoon from time to time.

While the soup is cooking, pre-heat oven to a medium grill setting.

Place mushrooms in a large bowl (if mushrooms are not pre-sliced, do this first to larger mushrooms, but leave smaller shiitake and oyster mushrooms whole) then drizzle over about 2 tbsp olive oil, add the chopped rosemary and lemon zest then season lightly with some salt. Toss well then spread mushrooms in a single layer on a large baking tray.

Place tray near the top of the oven (about 2/3 up) and grill for 10 minutes. Toss mushrooms then grill again until mushrooms start to crisp and look beautifully toasted, 5-10 minutes.

To finish the soup, fish out the bay leaf and discard, then remove the chicken breasts and use 2 forks to shred the meat. Return chicken to the soup and stir through, along with the spinach, cream, and parmesan. Stir over heat until the spinach has wilted. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed.

Ladle soup into serving bowls then top each with the grilled mushrooms. Finish off with parmesan shavings and some fresh herbs.