Syrian Chicken Yakhni Soup

Savory Eats

The season is now spring, but the weather still thinks it's winter in New York City. I made one last soup to celebrate the final days of winter weather. This is one of my childhood favorites and this traditional Syrian recipe was passed down from my grandmother. This Chicken Yakhni recipe is savory with a hint of sweetness and is very light and delicious...

Ingredients:
*This recipe makes a lot of soup. Enough to feed 6 hungry people with plenty of leftovers.

• Soup
• 6 sweet yellow onions, sliced
• Half a stick of butter (1/4 cup)
• 64-96 ounces of chicken broth (enough to fully cover the onions and have a brothy consistency)
• 4 chicken breasts (I bought 2 roasted whole chickens), shredded
• Salt and pepper
• Rice (or use premade rice pilaf if you're feeling lazy)
• 1/2 cup of orzo (I used whole wheat)
• 1 cup of rice (again, I used whole wheat)
• ~2 & 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 can chickpeas, deshelled
• Salt

Recipe:

Soup

1. Slice up all the onions. Heat half a stick of butter in a large pot then add the onions. Saute and cook down the onions until they're golden brown. Season with about 1-2 Tbs of salt and a few teaspoons of pepper:

2. Pour in the chicken broth and let the soup cook for about 25 minutes at a simmer. Taste and keep adding salt until it is seasoned to your liking:

3. Meanwhile, shred the 4 chicken breasts and add half of the shredded chicken to the soup. Simmer for about 25 more minutes:

Rice

1. Brown the orzo in a tablespoon of butter. Add the rice. Add about 2 & 1/2 cups of chicken broth and/or water and cook as directed on the rice package:

2. Meanwhile, deshell 1/2 can of chickpeas and discard the shells:

3. When the rice is fully cooked, add the chickpeas and the rest of the chicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste:

4. Pour the Chicken Yakhni soup on the rice pilaf and enjoy while hot!

Recipe to print:

Soup

1. Slice up all the onions. Heat half a stick of butter in a large pot then add the onions. Saute and cook down the onions until they're golden brown. Season with about 1-2 Tbs of salt and a few teaspoons of pepper.
2. Pour in the chicken broth and let the soup cook for about 25 minutes at a simmer. Taste and keep adding salt until it is seasoned to your liking.
3. Meanwhile, shred the 4 chicken breasts and add half of the shredded chicken to the soup. Simmer for about 25 more minutes.

Rice

1. Brown the orzo in a tablespoon of butter. Add the rice. Add about 2 & 1/2 cups of chicken broth and/or water and cook the rice as directed on the package.
2. Meanwhile, deshell 1/2 can of chickpeas.
3. When the rice is fully cooked, add the chickpeas and the rest of the chicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Pour the Chicken Yakhni soup on the rice pilaf and enjoy while hot!