Lemon-Chicken Soup

Here's the promised recipe.


6 skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts
2 large onions, chopped
5 celery ribs, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. olive oil
1 (1-lb) package carrots, sliced
4 tsp. lemon zest
2 bay leaves
2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
Toppings: cooked barley, cooked green beans, lemon slices

Bring chicken and water to cover to a boil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, reduce heat to low, and simmer one hour.
Remove chicken, reserving liquid, and let cool 15 minutes. Shred chicken.
Pour reserved cooking liquid through a wire-mesh strainer into a bowl, discarding solids; wipe Dutch oven clean. Add water to cooking liquid to equal 10 cups.
Saute onion, celery, and garlic in hot oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat 5-6 minutes or until tender. Add shredded chicken, cooking liquid, carrots, and next 3 ingredients. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook 20 minutes or until carrots are tender. Add parsley. Serve with desired toppings.

As you know, I usually always change recipes. I added about 3/4 cup of barley and a can of green beans to the soup and let it cook until the barley was tender.

We like the fresh taste from the lemon zest. Different from our usual chicken soup.

Do you have one of these zesters? I have a pink one to match my kitchen, but I bought mine at a kitchen outlet store and paid less for it than this one from Penney's. I use it for garlic, lemon and orange zest, and Parmesan cheese. I love it!