After a few days of holiday indulgence, the minute we were back in our home just the three of us the only thing I craved was this simple nourishing soup.

I had a chicken carcass in the freezer and put that in my Instant Pot with six cups of water, two bay leaves, a carrot broken in half and an onion, peeled and cut in half. It cooked on high pressure for a half hour and made a perfect, light and clean tasting broth.

While the broth was cooking, I softened a chopped onion, some diced carrots and celery in a little olive oil then added a handful of rinsed basmati rice and poured over the strained broth fresh from the pressure cooker.

Simmer until the rice is cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and a good amount of lemon juice (I used 1 1/2 lemons) and chopped parsley.

And just like that, I'm almost feeling back to my pre-holiday-indulgent self (though that midday glass of bubbles still sounds sooo right).

#balance