This was never meant to be published. It really even wasn’t meant to be made. How did we get here to chicken broccoli rice soup?

The method isn’t terribly interesting or original. You sauté the most basic aromatics, and pour in some un-rinsed short grain rice. You lay in a few bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and cover with water, which creates a flavorful stock all by itself during the cook time. Like congee and all the other rice porridges that have come before it, the rice becomes the thickening agent, releasing starch over a longish slow simmer to create a creamy porridge-like soup. Easy. Nice. Simple.

Only in this soup, there is also broccoli. It is actually a significant quantity of broccoli. You decided to add the broccoli because you couldn’t think of a reason not to add the broccoli. At first, you regret it. But as the broccoli breaks down over the cooking process, it transforms your porridge into a greenish creamy soup studded with bright little carrot bits and livened up with a lot of lemon. It’s kind of a chicken soup, kind of a rice porridge, and kind of a Panera Bread vibe. You are not sure what to think of this in the moment. You decide to put cheese on it.

You might be more used to seeing these ingredients in casseroles than soups. It vaguely resembles a Minute Rice chicken divan. I guarantee you have never made anything like it. It is best served with an unholy pairing of parmesan and, seriously, hot sauce. It is going on repeat because it is so unforgivably easy and low-maintenance, just simmering on the stove keeping itself entertained while you finish writing performance evaluations. It is excellent for a weeknight soup dinner and even better warmed up for lunch.

But I realize: there is no explaining this soup. Even writing it down feels wrong. But if you taste, you will believe. Make it once and let me know if I’m crazy.

RECIPE

Kind of a rice porridge, kind of a chicken soup, kind of a Panera Bread vibe—chicken broccoli rice soup is not what you think, but it is maybe everything you want.

Effortful time: 10 minutes

Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes

YOU NEED

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
4 medium carrots, roughly chopped
3 ribs celery, roughly chopped
1 small onion or shallot, diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 cup short grain rice, like arborio or sushi rice—don’t rinse it
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. sweet paprika
Salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper
1 1/2 lbs. bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
10 cups water
8 oz. (approximately 3 cups) frozen broccoli florets
Juice from 2 large lemons
1 tbsp. hot sauce, optional but strongly recommended
Shaved parm or shredded sharp cheddar cheese, for serving

MAKE IT

Sauté the aromatics. Heat olive oil in a medium-large Dutch oven (~5 qt) over medium heat. Add 4 chopped carrots, 3 chopped celery ribs, a small chopped onion/shallot, and 4 cloves of smashed/peeled garlic to the oil and sauté until the vegetables are slightly soft and have a tiny bit of color, about 4-5 minutes.
Build the soup. Add 1 cup short grain rice, 1/2 tsp. of cayenne pepper, 1/4 tsp. sweet paprika, salt, and pepper to the pot and give it a good stir. Nestle in your chicken thighs. Pour over 10 cups of water. Bring to a boil for 1 minute and then lower to a slow simmer (don’t let it get too hot, or the chicken will be tough). Simmer the soup, stirring every so often to ensure no rice sticks to the bottom, for 20 minutes.
Add your broccoli and continue simmering. At the 20 minute mark, fold in the 8 oz. of frozen broccoli florets. Let this continue to cook 1 hour more, still stirring often, until the broccoli is falling apart.
Shred the chicken. After an hour of cook time total, pull the chicken out with tongs and place it on a board—it should be very tender and braised at this time. Remove the skin and, using two forks, shred the chicken off the bones. Discard all the skin and bones, and add the meat back to the pot.
Finish the soup. Add the lemon juice and hot sauce and stir. Serve with freshly cracked black pepper and cheese.