January 11, 2020

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup Homemade, Nutritious And Comforting

Name: Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 91 min
Total time: 106 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: o1 (4-pound whole chicken); 2 carrots (peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces); 2 celery stalks (cut into 1-inch pieces); 1 medium onion (peeled and sliced); 6 garlic cloves (crushed); 4 sprigs fresh Italian parsley; 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns; 2 bay leaves; 6 cups water; 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 1 1/3 chopped carrot; 1 1/4 cups chopped onion; 1 cup chopped celery; 2 teaspoons salt; 1 Box (32 oz. Chicken Broth or Stock); 8 ounces uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta); 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley; 2 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon rind; 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice; Lemon wedges (optional); Coarsely cracked black pepper (optional)

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Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup is so light we eat it year round. Usually, people associate soups with cold, dreary, wintry days but our soup has a bright lemony taste. Chicken noodle soup is probably the tops in comfort food and who doesn’t need a little comfort throughout the year?

A brown bowl filled with chicken orzo lemon soup with sprigs of parsley.

Contents hide

1 Chicken soup ultimate comfort food

2 An economical soup

3 Two day recipe cut down to one

3.1 Chef Tip:

4 Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup Recipe

5 Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Chicken soup ultimate comfort food

This is simply a version of that soup.

It’s funny, but when I was growing up, some kind of soup bubbling on the stove was a constant in our Italian home. At that time I didn’t appreciate all the wonderful benefits of it.

Simmering some meat with vegetables and flavorings in water then adding a starch would go a long way to feeding the four of us.

It was nutritious; it was economical.

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup First Step

An economical soup

My parents watched every penny . . . nothing was wasted! It seemed chicken was a staple in our house and Sunday was my mom’s specialty, her chicken broth with gnocchi. My brother and I would sometimes complain “Zuppa, di nuovo“? {Soup, again?} Mamma would just smile and say, “Mangia!”

And we would, reluctantly at first, but because it tasted so good, we eagerly finished the entire bowlful.

It was definitely comforting!

Every time mamma served anything . . . it was made with love. She believed good food was the magic elixir to good health.

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup - a comfort food @allourway.com

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup – All Our Way

Even today there is something very comforting about sipping Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup. There’s a satisfaction, a contentment.

Two day recipe cut down to one

This recipe is not difficult although it does take two days. We make the broth from a whole chicken the first day, remove the chicken from the broth and let the liquid cool.

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup in Bowl with Artisan Bread @allourway.com

The chicken and broth are refrigerated overnight.

Then, the next day we assemble the Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup. It comes together fairly quickly since the main ingredients are already cooked.

The diced vegetables cook in about 15 minutes and the pasta is cooked separately then added to the soup.

Chef Tip:

QUICK RECIPE ALTERNATE:

If you don’t have time for making the homemade broth, use the chicken from a store bought rotisserie chicken and make up the 9 cups of broth with an excellent quality packaged broth.

We sometimes add 1 1/2 cups baby spinach along with the parsley, rind, and juice.

This is one of our family’s favorite soups as you can tell by the different photographs– we hope it will become one of yours.

Mangia bene; Sta bene { Eat well, be well }

Tutti a tavolo è pronto!

Un caro saluto e alla prossima.

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Many times instead of water we use a good quality chicken stock or broth. We find that we get so much flavor and taste from the broth or stock. See if it doesn’t make a difference in your cooking!

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup Recipe