Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
A hearty, soul warming soup that's bursting with flavour
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 cup orzo (pasta rice)
- 2 chicken breasts cut in halves
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 small onion
- 2 ribs celery diced
- 2 carrots diced
- 2 large cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoon cake wheat or all purpose flour
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 3 cups water
- juice of half a lemon
- salt
- pepper
- 1/4 cup parmesan (optional)
- fresh parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Add the olive oil, onion, celery and carrots to a pot and sauté on a low heat until the onion is translucent. About 10 minutes
- Add the butter and garlic and fry for a minute. Mix in the flour, thyme and italian herbs
- Slowly add in the chicken stock and water. Add the chicken breasts and bring to a boil
- Reduce the heat to the lowest setting, cover the pot and allow the chicken breasts to simmer for 20 minutes
- Remove the chicken breasts. Shred with two forks and set aside
- Add the orzo to the pot. Keep the pot uncovered and allow the orzo to simmer on low heat. Stir at regular intervals to prevent it from sticking
- Turn off the heat. Add the chicken and spinach to the pot. Season with more salt if required and add pepper. Squeeze in the lemon juice and mix well. If using parmesan you can sprinkle it on the soup when serving.
- Garnish with fresh parsley. Serve warm
Notes
- You can use store bought rotisserie chicken for this soup. You will only add that once the orzo is almost cooked and just bring to the boil
- If you are one of those that don't mind carbs on carbs go ahead and serve some crusty bread on the side
- If you don't have fresh thyme you can add about a 1/4 teaspoon of dried thyme
- If you want a thicker soup you can add more flour. Most recipes call for about 2 tablespoon but you can adjust according to your taste