Chicken soup with mushrooms and pasta

Ingredients

• 15 g of dried mushrooms (cremini or portobello)
• 60 g of flour
• 570 g of boneless, skinless chicken drumsticks, cut in half
• 30 g of butter
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon of thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon of basil
• 1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 1.1 litres of low-sodium chicken broth
• 24 ounces of water
• 110 g of frozen green peas
• 2 carrots, cut into rounds
• 100 g of small pasta (such as elbow macaroni or other small pasta shapes)
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• a generous handful of chopped parsley
• half a lemon’s juice
• salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Place the mushrooms in a bowl and cover them with hot water. Let them soak.

Place each piece of chicken in the flour, coating it lightly on all sides. Set aside.

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter with the olive oil.

When the fat starts to sizzle, add the chicken and cook it, turning occasionally, until it is lightly browned on all sides, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the chicken and set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium, then add the onion, garlic, thyme, basil, and rosemary. Sauté until the onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes.

Increase the heat, add the broth and water. Bring to a simmer.

Meanwhile, cut the meat into bite-sized pieces.

Drain the mushrooms and squeeze them to remove excess water.

Once the broth is simmering, reduce the heat to medium and add the meat, mushrooms, green peas, and carrots.

Return to a simmer and cook until the carrots are tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the pasta and celery, and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the pasta is just tender.

Add the parsley and lemon juice, then season with salt and pepper to taste.