Good Spring Soup

Original Title?

Probably not but this soup was really good for dinner and Mr. Dunbar said it was even better the next day for lunch. With a hint of white wine and a zest of lemon, it was light enough for a warm Spring day, yet filling enough for a soup dinner.

I originally found this recipe for Chicken and Orzo Soup on Good Life Eats. I printed off the recipe because of the orzo in the soup; I’ve had two boxes of Orzo pasta sitting in my cupboard for months and had yet to use them. But this was the perfect recipe for it. I did change the Good Life Eats recipe up a bit, partly because I don’t have a pressure cooker. (Do you??)

And then because I avoid cooking with eggs as much as I can, although if you do eat eggs I think this would have been a key change-up ingredient.

So here is the original recipe, with my small change ups.

For the Chicken:
1 lb. chicken (I like boneless, skinless breasts)
1 stalk celery, cut into thirds (Next time I’d put this in the soup part.)
half of a lemon, sliced
handful of fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper
2 bay leaves
3 sprigs thyme
1 cup water (I omitted this.)
1/2 cup chicken broth

For the soup:
1 onion, diced (I used 1/2 an onion.)
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup white wine
3 carrots, sliced into rounds
6 cups chicken broth
1/2 - 3/4 cup orzo pasta, uncooked (I’d add at least 1 cup next time.)
3 egg yolks ( I omitted.)
2 - 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (Use the juice from a whole lemon.)
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
1 1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme
2 - 3 large handfuls of fresh baby spinach, chopped

Directions:

For the chicken:
Combine all the ingredients in a 5 liter pressure cooker. If the chicken is frozen, that is okay. Bring the mixture to a boil. Secure the lid and bring to high pressure. Once high pressure is achieved, cook for 20 minutes (for thawed) or 30 minutes (for frozen chicken). Remove from heat and let pressure release completely before opening the lid.

(Since I don’t have a pressure cooker, I placed all of these ingredients in a Pyrex cooking dish and baked at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. The chicken was really good and could be eaten as a stand alone main protein dish.)

Let the chicken cool until it is cool enough to handle. Shred and set aside.

For the Soup:

Add 1 tablespoon of olive or canola oil in a large Dutch oven. Sauté the onion over medium-high heat until golden and tender. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute more.

Add the white wine and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the broth and carrot. Bring to a boil. Like I said, I couldn’t do this: [Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and lemon together. Add 1 cup of hot broth from the Dutch oven very slowly to the egg yolk mixture, whisking as you pour. Then, transfer the mixture to the Dutch oven.]

Stir in the orzo and chicken.

Continue cooking over medium-low until the pasta and carrots are tender. Just before serving, season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the thyme, parsley, and spinach.

Serve immediately.

Serves 4-6.

~mrs. dunbar