Canja De Galinha

I know I said in an earlier post that the food I ate on the Azores was terrible, and for the most part of it that was the truth. However, I did have one thing that really struck my fancy. A gorgeous chicken and rice soup.

According to the waiter at the restaurant where we had this soup it was a typical Azorean soup, but according to the Internet, and we all know just how reliable the Internet is, claims this soup originated in Brazil. I will not go further into the history of the soup, all I need to know is how to make it for myself.

I don't normally make soups, but today called for soup. I have an extremely sore throat and what's better for the soul than chicken soup? In fact, I had had my heart set on mushroom soup for the entire day, but then the bf came home and suggested the soup we had on the Azores. I googled the recipe and realized the soup contains chicken giblets and would require up to 2 ½ hours cooking . No thank you, I thought!! But I decided on making my own version, and believe it or not, but it turned out delicious.

So, here's my take on Canja De Galinha


Canja De Galinha
Serves 2

2 chicken thighs bones in, cut into thigh and drumstick
1 red onion, finely chopped
pinch of salt
pinch of thyme
1 bay leaf
1 dried chili
2 ½ cups/ 6 dl water
1 cup cooked rice
1 tsp mint leaves, chopped
pinch of turmeric
1-2 tbsp lemon juice
pepper
olive oil

1. Drizzle olive oil into a hot saucepan. Add the onions and fry until translucent, but make sure they do not brown or burn. Add in the pieces of chicken, stir.

2. Add salt, thyme, bay leaf, dried chili, and water. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat to a simmer and simmer for about 20-30 minutes.

3. Check that the chicken is done, if it is move on to the next step, if not, keep on cooking until the chicken juices run clear.

4. Take out the chicken, remove the meat from the bones. Return the meat to the soup, add the rest of the ingredients, bring to the boil, remove from the heat.

4. Serve in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and a piece of white bread on the side.

Enjoy!