Welcome back to spring semester, my fellow collegiettes! I’m sure you’re all feeling the fierce bite of winter’s wrath this season in the form of chapped lips, dry skin, stuffed noses and sore throats. But have no fear, because I’m gifting you all with the perfect soup recipe that will not only lift your “back to school” spirits, but will also thoroughly clear your sinuses. So stop your sniffling and pay attention.
Lemon chicken orzo soup has very possibly become my favorite meal to throw together, quite frankly because its ingredients are cheap to buy, it’s easy to cook and its delicious lemon tang gets me back to feeling brand new and ready to wake up and take on my 8 a.m. class the next morning. Here is a list of the ingredients you’ll need:
- 1 large onion diced
- 3 medium carrots cut into circles
- 3 stalks of celery cut into half moons
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- Juice and zest of 2 lemons
- 1 large chicken breast shredded or diced into bite-size pieces
- 8 cups of chicken broth
- 1 handful chopped Italian parsley or a few shakes of parsley from your spice rack
- 1 cup orzo pasta or any other small pasta that you enjoy
- 1 cup baby spinach leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
Courtesy: Tawnie Simpson
- As I previously mentioned, making this soup is super simple. First thing’s first, you’re going to want to crank up your stovetop to medium heat and add a tablespoon of butter into your large pot.
- Next, you’ll need to chop up the entire onion into small cubes. Along with your onion, chop up your three carrots into rounds and your three celery stalks into half-moons. Make sure not to cut them too thin, or else they’ll come out mushy.
- Throw all of your vegetables into your pot with your three cloves of minced garlic and put the top on your pot to allow the vegetables to sweat. You’re going to let them sit in there for about 15 minutes until they’re fragrant, but be sure to check in on them every few minutes to stir them around so they don’t get stuck or burnt on the bottom of your pot.
- At this point, it’s time to add your eight cups of chicken broth to your pot! Always feel free to add more as you go if you enjoy your soups with more broth.
- Add the juice and the zest of two whole lemons. I love my soup to be super lemon-infused, but if you’re not that kind of girl, try just adding the juice and zest of one and a half of your lemons. You can always add more!
- Allow your soup to reach a simmer and then add your cup of orzo and your roasted shredded chicken to your pot. I usually keep my chicken plain and boring for this soup by simply seasoning it with salt and pepper, so that it doesn’t overpower any of the other flavors.
- After about 15 minutes, your orzo should be cooked. You can turn off the heat and add your baby spinach and parsley.
- Mix well to combine, add any salt and pepper to taste, serve it up and beat those cold weather blues!