Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup, a delightful and nutritious dish made with lean chicken, tender orzo pasta, fresh vegetables, and a zesty lemon-egg broth.
Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup, a delightful and nutritious dish made with lean chicken, tender orzo pasta, fresh vegetables, and a zesty lemon-egg broth.
- 1 pinch salt
- 4 tsp olive oil
- 8 ounces chicken breast halves skinless, boneless, cut into small chunks
- 1.5 cups onion medium
- .5 cups celery diced (about 2 stalks)
- .5 cup carrot diced
- 2 tsp thyme (fresh) or 1/2 tsp thyme (dried)
- 6 cups chicken broth low-sodium
- 1 cup orzo preferably wheat
- 2 each eggs large
- 3 tbs lemon juice
- 1 pinch black pepper to taste
- .5 cup spinach leaves
- Carbohydrate 15.8285128490115 g
- Cholesterol 141.773014568 mg
- Fat 10.8369839827913 g
- Fiber 5.10792308399679 g
- Protein 21.9852243087201 g
- Saturated Fat 2.74048458021877 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (534g)
- Sodium 879.127894751022 mg
- Sugar 10.7205897650147 g
- Trans Fat 1.2057444945415 g
- Calories 243 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with the salt, add it to the pot, and cook, stirring, a few times, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a dish and set aside.
- Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the pot. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and thyme and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add 5 cups of the broth and bring to a boil. Add the orzo and let simmer until tender, about 8 minutes. Turn the heat down to low to keep the soup hot but not boiling.
- Warm the remaining 1 cup broth in a small saucepan until it is hot but not boiling. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Gradually whisk the lemon juice into the eggs. Then gradually add the hot broth to the egg-lemon mixture, whisking all the while. Add the mixture to the soup, stirring well until the soup is thickened. Do not let the soup come to a boil. Add the cooked chicken to the soup. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
When working with a single two-quart soup pot on a cramped burner, managing moisture loss during the vegetable sweat requires lowering the heat to medium-low so the carrots soften without browning. Using fresh lemon juice instead of bottled acid reacts differently with proteins, yielding a sharper brightness that cuts through the rich chicken broth.
- Temper the beaten eggs by whisking warm broth in a steady stream before combining it with the main pot; failing to temper causes immediate curdling at 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Fresh thyme leaves distribute evenly through the liquid, whereas dried thyme requires an extra minute of simmering to release its aromatic oils into the fat.
- Scaling this formulation downward for a single portion demands careful reduction of the egg volume, as half a beaten egg is notoriously difficult to measure accurately.
Whisk constantly during the final thickening stage and keep the burner on low heat to prevent the mixture from breaking. Serve immediately while the spinach leaves remain bright green against the pale broth.
