I have complete faith that my Arizona Cardinals will win the George Halas Trophy in the NFC Championship Game game today – along with their ticket to Super Bowl 50!

Just like I have faith that this soup can help cure, or at least bring relief to, the flu.  The flu is traveling like wildfire and now Dave has it.  I made this soup for him last night and he’s on the mend today, in time for the big game.

I found the version of the recipe when a friend posted it on Facebook. It sounded like the perfect remedy, especially after giving it a few healthier tweaks. Now it’s ready to share with you.  Round up the ingredients, pop it all in a slow-cooker and it’ll be ready for kickoff at 4:40 PM!

It is soul-soothing and absolutely fabulous, just like the Cards! #riseupredsea #birdgang

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Nothing is more comforting than a big bowl of hearty soup and a slice of warm crusty bread. This chunky soup has a long list of ingredients but actually comes together quickly.  Especially if you use the leftover wild and brown rice (from the Rack of Lamb dinner post on October 2 on this site) and meat from a rotisserie chicken.  As usual, I use Costco’s rotisserie chicken, which yields about 1 3/4 pounds of meat, after discarding the skin and bones. Chop up the dark meat for the soup and refrigerate the breast meat for salads or sandwiches for another day.  The chicken Andouille sausage used here was found at Trader Joe’s but any cooked sausage you prefer (such as kielbasa) is fine.  Although the sausage is fully cooked, it is sautéed with the vegetables to lend them more flavor before the liquid is added to the pot.  Today was my first opportunity to use my new “Elite” Cuisinart, and I must say, it was amazing, can’t wait to really put it to the test with a big ol’ day of cooking! With the holidays fast approaching, that will be very soon!  Speaking of the holidays, this would be a perfect soup to make with leftover turkey meat and turkey stock made from the turkey carcass from Thanksgiving, so keep it in mind.

1 3/4 pounds of meat from one Costco rotisserie chicken; breast meat on the left, dark meat on the right

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Mostarda and Lamb’s main ingredients

Mostarda di Frutta is an Italian condiment made of candied fruit in a mustard-flavored syrup. It is served with boiled, roasted, or grilled meats, and is a fabulous accompaniment to cheeses.

The rack of lamb is “Frenched” which means the meat, fat, and membranes that connect the individual rib bones are scraped or trimmed away from the end of the bone down to about two inches above the rib-eye area. This is generally done on lamb chops, veal rib chops, or a crown pork roast. Frenched racks and chops can be purchased already done or you can “French” them on your own at home. Click this link for a great video demonstration from Fine Cooking on how to French a rack of lamb. If you do decide to French the lamb yourself, discard the fat and membrane, but be sure to save all meat scraps and use them as stew meat or grind to make into lamb burgers.

Wild rice is not true rice or a grain, but grass native to the Great Lakes region of North America. It is gluten-free and is a good source of potassium, phosphorus, thiamine, and riboflavin.  Wild rice needs much more water and cooking time than white or brown rice; the water ratio is about 4 to 1.  It takes about an hour to cook and not all the water is absorbed, the excess is drained away.  Because of the long cooking time, I generally make a double batch and use half of it for another meal. Another common way to serve wild rice is to mix it with brown rice; this half-and-half combination makes it tasty and budget-friendly since wild rice is more expensive than other types of rice.

garlic, herbs, and salt before – and after mincing into a paste

There is a garlic-herb paste rubbed on the lamb and topping the tomatoes.  A little bit of kosher salt is used in the mix, its purpose is to help break down the garlic, it makes a big difference in the texture of this paste and is always a great technique to use the next time you make aioli too.
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