Souper-Bowl Sunday - Chicken Orzo Soup

Chicken Orzo Soup

1 package of split chicken breast (2.5 – 3lbs)

6 cups of chicken stock (I like Kitchen Basics,  this is about a box and a half)

1 onion (diced)

2 dried bay leaves

1 clove of garlic

3-4 stalks of celery (diced)

3-4 carrots cut into rounds

1/3 cup of dried orzo (or any other type of pasta, tortellini works great too!)

¼ grated Pecorino Romano cheese

2-3 tbsp of chopped flat leaf parsley

Salt and Pepper to taste

When I make soup it is for one of two reasons, one: My husband is sick and he is requesting “magic soup” or two: I have leftover pieces that I’m not sure what to do with so let’s throw it all into a soup (definitely a trick that I learned from my mother).

First thing to notice about this recipe is all the measurements are approximations.  I apologize to those who really like precise measurements, but this is not one of those meals.  And to quote my grandmother “Cooking is an art, but baking is a science.”  Baking is a science because you need certain reactions to occur in order, for example, the cake to rise.   

(Poor parsley got left out of the picture)

1) In a large stock pot (I used a 6 quart one) place the chicken breast, diced onion, bay leaves, chopped garlic clove (or use a garlic press) and chicken stock, and some black pepper.

2) Add some water if needed to get about 3/4 filled. 

3) Turn the heat to medium high to bring to a boil.  Once boiling reduce the heat to medium low to simmer.  Allow soup to simmer for 1½ hours. 

4)  I use this time to prep some other pieces.  Such as dicing the celery and cut the carrots.  I like to cut carrots on about a 45° angle to maximize the surface area.  Only a math teacher would think like that!   Then throw some tv, I hear there might have been a game today….

5) After the chicken has cooked, remove it from the pot and let it cool in a separate bowl. Remove the bay leaves as well. Depending on how fatty the chicken breast was you may want to skim some of the fat off of the top of the soup. 

6)  Place the pot back on the stove and turn the temp to medium.  Toss in the carrots and celery and cook for 30 minutes.   (Again back to the tv)

 

7) Next add the dried pasta and cook depending on the package.  If you want you can use fresh pasta, it will just be faster.

8) Now the chicken has cooled off, remove it from the bones, toss the skin and cut and/or shred the chicken.

9) Check the done-ness of the pasta.  Once it’s completely cooked add the chicken back in, Pecorino Romano cheese and parsley.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  I don’t use much salt, because the cheese is very salty. 

 When I made it this weekend I ended up with 3 quarts, which all got donated to a fundraiser at church for a family in need.  The final soup is very thick, but you could easily make 4 quarts by adding more liquid, (a mix of chicken stock and water) but this is how my husband likes it.  

 I love this recipe because it is nice and easy and it one of the first recipes that I adapted to make my own.  Enjoy!