Soup-e Shir

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  • Level: Easy
  • Total: 1 hr
  • Active: 15 min
  • Yield: 4 to 6 servings
This creamy oat and chicken Persian soup owes its texture to oatmeal rather than heavy cream or a slurry. The soup is ready in less than an hour, and most of that time is hands-off. Stirring in freshly squeezed lemon juice at the end add some brightness.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Place the chicken, oats, garlic, carrots, onions, olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a large pot. Add 5 cups water and place a wooden spoon in the pot so the liquid won’t boil over. Partially cover the pot and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, 10 to 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. If the soup thickens too quickly before the chicken is done, stir in up to 1 cup of water to thin it out.
  2. Remove the chicken from the soup and shred it using two forks. Return the shredded chicken to the pot and give it a nice stir. Slowly add the milk while stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to medium-low and gently simmer for 10 minutes more.
  3. Stir in half the parsley and the lemon juice. Taste the soup. It should have enough salt to be pleasant and have just hint of lemon. Add more salt, pepper and/or lemon juice, if needed.
  4. Serve garnished with the remaining parsley.

Cook’s Note

For a vegetarian version, you can leave out the chicken.