Have you ever gone swimming with a cell phone in your pocket? This tragedy may seem like the end of the line for your favorite electronic device, but it doesn’t have to be. A lot of DIY geeks swear that if a phone gets flooded you can save it. You gotta act fast, but if you immediately pull the battery out and plunge all the parts into a bag of rice you might get lucky. I don’t know if this life hack really works (and I don’t want to find out) but the amazing absorption properties of rice is just the kind of thing I was thinking about when I was making today’s Lamb and Rice Soup.
You see this Lamb and Rice Soup starts with a flavorful broth that takes hours of monitoring to ensure deep flavor. So the cook has plenty of time to contemplate all sorts of subjects. While making this broth I got to thinking about the rice I planned to cook in it. The thing I love most about rice is how much it loves a flavorful broth. It literally soaks it up. This liquid affinity may be because rice is grown in flooded fields known as paddies. Or maybe it’s the fact that rice, like most grains, is dried before it’s used in cooking. Whatever the reason, by the time rice gets to the pot it’s ready to soak up whatever broths, juices, or gravy you splash its way.
Lamb and Rice Soup
Lamb and Arborio rice, simmered in a garlicky broth, add enough body to this simple soup to make it feel like a satisfying meal. It’s seasoned with bay leaves and served with as many sliced chiles as you like. The finishing touch is lots of lemon juice and a touch of olive oil. Arborio rice is typically used in making risotto because it’s particularly good at absorbing flavor. It’s that same quality that makes it a great choice in this soup. The grain absorbs lots of flavors yet maintains its shape. It becomes meltingly tender on the outside with a firm bite on the inside. GREG
Don’t add the broth to the rice until right before serving. It will soak it all up even after it’s cooked.
Ingredients
- 2 lamb shanks
- 3 carrots (broken into 3‑inch pieces)
- 2 yellow onions (peeled and quartered)
- 2 stalks celery (broken into 3‑inch pieces)
- 10–12 clove garlic (peeled and lightly smashed)
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 quart (plus 3/4 cups) water (divided)
- 1 cup Arborio rice
- kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper (as seasoning, to taste)
- 3–4 Thai bird chile peppers (or to taste, sliced)
- 1–2 lemons (sliced into wedges)
- extra-virgin olive oil (for drizzling)
Directions
Make the broth the day before: Place lamb shanks, carrots, onions, celery, garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaves into a large stock pot. Pour in 5 quarts of water and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat to a barely bubbling at the edges of the pot, very low simmer, skimming foam and fat often, for 2 ½ hours.
Transfer the lamb to a plate to cool completely. Remove the lamb meat from the bones, and shred onto a separate plate. Discard bones. Cover and refrigerate lamb overnight.
Strain the lamb broth through a fine-meshed sieve into a clean stock pot with a lid; discard solids. Cover and refrigerate broth overnight.
The next day: Peel off the coagulated fat from the surface of the broth. Gently reheat the broth and remove from heat.
To assemble the soup: Bring 1 cups of the warm broth, remaining 3/4 cups water, and rice to a simmer in a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to very low, and gently simmer, covered, until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender about 15 minutes.
Place a big spoonful of rice onto the bottoms warm soup bowls. You might not need all the rice depending on how soupy you like it.
Meanwhile, bring remaining broth to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Add shredded lamb, and cook until heated through. Top each bowl of rice with some of the lamb and broth. Top with a few chile slices, a big squeeze of lemon to taste (you want it nice and lemony), and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve immediately with additional lemon slices on the side.
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So simple and perfectly elegant. I bet the Thai birds make this dish!
Lamb for tomorrow’s lunch would be a perfect idea. Love this recipe, Greg!
This is a gorgeous bowl of soup Greg!
Love lamb! My favorite red meat. I’ll usually make soup when I buy a leg and butterfly it — perfect use for the bones. Haven’t thought to make it with lamb shank — I usually like to braise that. But it’s the perfect cut for this dish. Thanks!
Wow, this sounds like the epitome of comfort food. The picky hubby happens to adore lamb—which I rarely make. He’d love to come home to this lovely soup! Fingers crossed I never have to try the rice trick 🙂
My goodness this sounds amazing. That broth must be out of this world delicious. I love the way you lovingly assemble this bowl of soup — a fascinating treat for sure!
HI Greg, slow cooked meal are the best, you can almost taste the amount of time and love throughout. Great tip for the cell phone, my sister did that once and it actually worked.
Must say I did try this after I left a regular phone outside all night in the pouring rain. I could have changed the battery, but I didn’t. Anyway it worked! Not that I’d test it on my cell phone. I would test this recipe though on Manservant…and I know he would love it rain or shine!
This is my kinda Sunday dinner, especially with all the rain we’ve been having. I love lamb! Need to start this one next Saturday and make it happen!
A friend of mine dropped his phone into a bowl of runny dough. He had to replace it. My geeky husband tells me that the new iPhone seven are waterproof. I don’t know if it’s true or not, the information comes from the Apple website. Your soup looks delicious.
I love your method for constructing the dish, Greg. I can imagine this at the table — like dinner theatre.
Comfort food simply well done.
I can tell you from experience that it does work, it wasn’t mind (thank goodness) but JTs. The phone fell out of its case into the lake. We spent about 10 minutes trying to fish it out and then looking for rice (we had none at the cottage!). We didn’t pull the battery out but we did let it rest on some absorbent towels and when we got home it went right into a giant vat of rice and sat in the rice for a day or two. It worked but the home button died (which is normal for this experience, apparently). We solved that problem by making a touch home button on the screen. JT used the phone for a couple of months and then it started acting up and he decided to get a new one. Fortunately, the phone was at the end of its life anyway!
What a wonderful soup, it’s been snowing off and on all day (no sun at all) and it’s been cold so this soup would be a perfect end to a dreary winter day.
It does work. My girlfriend did (for phone). The words lamb. rice. Both scream comfort and then you said broth. A triple header.
Very interesting. I’ve never used any kind of risotto rice other than for making risotto. Very intriguing! And a beautiful soup to boot!