Grandma Ducky’s chicken and rice soup, modified to freeze Credit: CP Photo: Stacy Rounds

Who else needs some comfort food right about now? I know I do. I’ve sobbed into a box of bonbons already, and have even stuffed a whole Gobblerito into my gullet. But to me, nothing is more soothing than a big, hot bowl of homemade soup.

It’s technically soup season, after all, despite the warmer-than-average November weather. Since the dark clouds — both real and metaphorical — are gathering overhead, it may be time to sit down and cry into a big bowl of soothing soup.

Recently, I reached out to the Pittsburgh Foodies Facebook Group asking members to send me their grandmothers’ soup recipes. Three foodies delivered some great soups that I’ll happily simmer and share over the next few months. Kit Douglas was kind enough to send me his Grandma Ducky’s chicken and rice soup — her go-to soup whenever someone in the family came down with a cold or flu.

COVID is still buzzing around, flu season has arrived (although numbers in Pa. are still minimal, according to the CDC) and colds are spreading through schools and public places. This healing soup is a great recipe to tuck into your sick season arsenal. How does this soup heal sickness? Who knows? According to Douglas, the fresh lemon and pinch of nutmeg are the secret ingredients.

The original recipe calls for the following:

Cut the meat off a whole roast chicken and simmer the bones with the veggie scraps and salt for 12 or more hours.

Strain the broth and set it aside. In the pot, cook the diced celery and carrots in butter until softened. Add the broth back. Add half the shredded chicken back into the soup. Wash a cup of rice, then add it into the simmering broth. Season the broth with salt (to taste), pepper, garlic powder, rosemary, thyme, a pinch of paprika, nutmeg, and creole seasoning. Juice ½ lemon into the soup, then simmer for two hours.

A note from Douglas: It’s best on the first day because the rice soaks up the broth when it sits in the fridge.

As usual, I made a change to this recipe. Don’t worry, Kit, I didn’t change anything important. Because my family eats smaller portions and we don’t like to toss away delicious healthy food, I only modified the recipe so that it freezes well.

I’m sure Grandma Ducky probably roasted a whole chicken to get this recipe going. Instead of doing all of that, I purchased a whole rotisserie chicken from Giant Eagle. I pulled all the meat off the bone and set it in the fridge. Then I took the bones and some leftover celery, carrot, shallot, and garlic scraps and let it simmer in my Dutch oven for sixteen hours.

I strained the broth in a colander fitted with coffee filters to get as many of the little scrappy bits out as possible. Then, I cooked down the diced carrots and celery in 3 Tbsp. butter until they were softened and fragrant. I added most of the broth back, setting aside 2 ¼ cups in a separate bowl. I added back ½ of the rotisserie chicken meat, all the spices (I used a large fresh sprig of rosemary from my garden and 2 smaller sprigs of thyme), and the lemon juice. Then I turned the heat down to low and covered the soup.

Because I wanted to freeze the leftover soup, I cooked the rice separately. I rinsed the rice, then I added a Tbsp. of butter to a small pot until it started to simmer, then I added my rice, allowing it to open up before adding the 2 ¼ cups of broth I set aside. I let the rice and broth come up to a boil before turning off the heat and leaving it covered until the rice was fully cooked — about fifteen minutes.

After two hours, I had something magical to eat. This soup packs a ton of flavor, and I could feel the healing vibe Grandma Ducky must have given to her kids and grandkids. Each loving spoonful packs a ton of flavor. I absolutely recommend making this soup on a cold day, a sick day, or a much-needed mental health day.