Fabulous Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo!

As we are gearing up to healthier eating I've been going through cookbooks looking for recipes that are appealing and yet fairly simple to make. Last night I decided to try this recipe for Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo from Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave cookbook.

(image courtesy of Google Images)

Oh. My. Goodness.

It was a hit. It was MORE than a hit. It was fabulous. Company-worthy. Simply delicious. I'm having a bowl of it for lunch and am watching the clock tick away just waiting for noon to arrive.

Yes it was that good. And I'm just so delighted to have found a recipe that I can add to my new Healthy Go-To Recipes binder. I'm sharing it here with preparation notes and variation ideas.

Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo

4 teaspoons olive oil
8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into small chunks
Pinch of salt (to taste)
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 stalks celery, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1 medium carrot, diced (about 1/2 cup)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup orzo, preferably whole wheat
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

(Note: Changes I made include eliminating the pinch of salt, adding more celery and carrot than recipe calls for, using 8 cups -- or 2 containers - chicken broth, and adding a large handful of baby spinach that has been roughly chopped a minute or two before serving.)

Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a soup pot over medium high heat. Add chicken (season with salt if desired) to pot and cook about 5 minutes -- just until cooked through. 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 he veggies are tender, about 5 minutes. Add 5 cups broth and bring to a boil. Add the orzo and let simmer until tender, about 8 minutes. Turn the heat down to low and keep the soup hot but not boiling.

Warm one cup broth in a small saucepan until it is hot but not boiling. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Gradually add and whisk the lemon juice into the eggs. Gradually add the hot broth to the egg-lemon mixture, whisking all the while. (Note: I now added 2 additional cups of broth to the soup in the pot to further cool it down as it was still almost simmering) Now add the egg-lemon mixture to the soup, stirring well until the soup is thickened. Do NOT let the soup come to a boil (it will cook the egg). Add the cooked chicken to the soup. (Note: I also added spinach at this point.) Season with ground pepper and serve.

Now -- my additional notes. I felt like this recipe was the perfect base for a veggie soup. The chicken was delicious but probably wouldn't be missed if other ingredients were added -- such as zucchini, broccoli, or green beans (or even white beans instead of the orzo?) We loved the addition of the chopped spinach. I didn't feel the need for adding the salt and left it out, however my husband added salt to his bowl at the table. This soup was very filling -- and made enough for us to have two meals plus a cup or two for lunch.

This is going to be a regular at our house ... easy to make, lots of opportunity for advance prep (cook the chicken ahead of time and chop up the veggies and bag.) Not sure how well it would freeze with the egg in it -- so I'll plan on serving twice when I make it. Would be great with a nice side salad!