Vegetable Soup with Rice and Lemon

Ingredients

• 150 g wild rice blend
• Salt
• 750 ml vegetable broth
• 30 g corn starch (2 tbsp)
• 500 ml clear pear juice
• 2 Organic lemons
• 1 small red pepperoncini
• 30 g ginger (1 piece)
• 1 star anise
• 1 stalk Celery
• 50 g princess beans
• 100 g corn kernels (jar; drained weight)
• 50 g sugar snap peas
• 1 bunch Thai basil
• 240 g chicken breast fillet (2 chicken breast fillets)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Cook rice according to package instructions in salted water. Then drain, rinse and set aside.

2. 2.

   While the rice cooks, bring broth to a boil in a pot. Whisk corn starch with pear juice, pour into broth and re‑boil while stirring occasionally.

3. 3.

   Meanwhile wash lemons hot and pat dry. Slice one lemon crosswise into wedges and set aside; cut the second lemon in half, squeeze out the juice and chop the zest into large pieces.

4. 4.

   Wash pepperoncini, trim and slice into rings. Peel ginger and slice thinly.

5. 5.

   Add lemon juice, zest, ginger, pepperoncini and star anise to the broth and simmer for about 10 minutes.

6. 6.

   In the meantime wash celery, trim, remove strings if necessary and slice. Wash beans, trim and cut into large pieces. Halve corn lengthwise. Wash sugar snap peas and trim. Wash basil, shake dry and pluck leaves.

7. 7.

   Strain broth through a fine sieve into a bowl; return liquid to the pot.

8. 8.

   Add celery, beans, corn and sugar snap peas to the pot with broth and simmer for 5–8 minutes until the beans are tender.

9. 9.

   Meanwhile rinse chicken fillets under cold water, pat dry and slice thinly. Add to soup, bring to boil and let it cook on low heat for about 10 minutes.

10. 10.

    Before serving add rice, basil and lemon wedges to the soup and warm for 1–2 minutes.