I know it’s March and I know that means Springtime is right around the corner and all……but seriously;
all I want to eat right now is soup.
Of course I want it fast, and I want it easy and I want it NOW. And although I am admittedly partial to super thick and creamy amalgamations (like this beautific Broccoli Cheddar Soup from Little Broken); in a nod to the brighter, lighter season ahead (and the copious amounts of dill that I magically seem to have on hand these days thanks to the AeroGarden my sis got me for Christmas) I decided to whip together a simple, soothing pot of SUNSHINE.
Lemon, Dill, Chicken, Orzo…the title is practically the list of ingredients!
I know you have an onion hidden over there somewhere…..some olive oil, salt and pepper, I mean seriously, right? So let’s make this satisfying soup.
In under an hour you too can be sipping pretty.
Chicken thighs (bone in, skin on), chicken broth, onion, Orzo pasta, lemon, fresh dill (yep, there’s that AeroGarden in the background there, doing its indoor gardening thing) some Olive Oil and a little salt and pepper are really all you need.
Now back in the day when I used to hit up the old KFC (oh man, it has been such a long while but was that stuff ever GOOD! I am sure it still is…….sigh) you would not catch me fighting over the chicken thigh pieces….oh no no no no. Give me the white meat or leave me out of it. I have since learned that the thighs offer the perfect fatty resiliency in recipes likes soups (and hey, how about this Jalapeño Sauced Chicken Thigh Bowl…..one of my favorites if I do say so myself) because they are dense and juicy and won’t dry out on you like breast meat often can.
While your thighs are cooking heat up a drizzle of olive oil in a big soup pot. Toss in that onion you diced (nice and small and evenly) and give it a stir. Toss in a sprinkle of salt and let this cook over a medium high heat, for at least 10 minutes. Yes, that long. You are using simple ingredients and not too many of them at that, so you want to take the time to coax the best out of them.
While you’ve got that going on juice a lemon…..
and chop some fresh dill. You’ll be needing that soon enough.
Once the onion is nice and soft and carmelized, add 1/2 cup of Orzo, and give it a spin, coating it with all of that oniony goodness.
Then dump in that entire container (4 cups) of chicken broth. You’ll probably have to turn down the heat by now, and let this gently simmer away until that pasta is nice and soft; 10 – 15 minutes.
Which gives you pleeeeenty of time to get after those little chicken thighs, and tear up the meat into nice, soup sized pieces. DIscard the skin and bones.
Yuck! (sorry)
Once the pasta is cooked, tip your chicken (along with any accumulated juices, don’t let those go to waste) into the soup,
and stir in the lemon juice and as much dill as you like.
That’s it! I like to turn off the heat and let this sit for a bit. This gives the Orzo a little more time to expand and the whole she-bang gets thick and luscious. Yum! The lemon and dill are almost refreshing (I know that sounds crazy – in a HOT soup?) and it’s mild (kid friendly) and zesty (adult friendly) at the same time. OMG, how about you make some Popovers to go along?!
And then invite me over, would you?
So, so good.
RECIPE BELOW: This makes about 5-1/2 cups of soup, or 4 servings. This is super easy to double if you like, and I totally would if I were you. You are going to like this. Leftovers are AMAZING…..cos soup loves you almost as much as I do.
- 1 package of (4) chicken thighs, bone-in skin-on
- 1 medium onion, diced (about 1-1/2 cup)
- 4 cups of chicken broth
- 1/2 cup Orzo
- The juice of 1 lemon
- Fresh dill, chopped (I used about two generous tablespoons) plus more to garnish
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- Preheat your oven to 375°
- Liberally salt and pepper the chicken thighs on both sides, then drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Place skin side up on a foil lined sheet pan and into the oven for 30 minutes. Once they are done give them enough time to cool so that you can handle them.
- Meanwhile, in a large soup pot bring a couple of "glugs"of olive oil up to a medium high heat. Add the diced onion and give them a sprinkle of salt. Stir and cook until slightly golden and translucent, about 10 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on this, adjust the heat as you need to keep them from browning deeply.
- Once the onion is nice and soft, add the Orzo and coat in the oil. Add the chicken stock, and give it a stir. Allow the soup to simmer (NOT boil) until the orzo expands and becomes soft, about 10 -15 minutes.
- While that is happening, remove the skin and bones from the chicken thighs and tear into soup sized pieces. Once the Orzo is cooked, add the chicken (and any accumulated juices) to the pot. Add the lemon juice and dill and stir to combine.
- Remove this from the heat and allow to sit for about 10 - 15 minutes (or longer) with a lid on. This will allow the soup to continue to thicken. Re-heat if needed and serve with a thin slice of lemon to garnish* and an extra sprinkle of dill if you like.
- *Totally Optional: I very thinly sliced another lemon and used that for garnish to make the final photos of the soup "pretty" cos let's face it......it really doesn't have that much sex appeal just sitting there being chicken soup. In real life....yeah....no.
- If I can't EAT the garnish I really have no interest. (lol)
1 Comment
Pingback: Super Simple Tomato Tart | Kick and Dinner