I indulged a whole lot these past few days (filets, rib roast, venison, cheeses, brownies, good wine, good beer, loaded baked potatoes....) so needless to say, on Sunday, I was seriously craving a good bowl of soup. I have never made Greek Chicken Lemon soup before, but I was inspired by the bright lemons sitting on my counter top, and the wonderful sunshine on this brisk day (Speaking of the weather. What. The. Hell. These mid-60 degree days we have had the majority of January is not my favorite. I have sweaters to wear. Really nice ones.)
So I googled Greek Chicken Lemon soup and found lots of recipes for Greek Avgolemono soup, which is delicious, but also has a lot of eggs, and that is not what I intended.
Finally found one from my good friend Giada de Laurentiis: Lemon Chicken Soup with Spaghetti, courtesy of http://www.foodnetwork.com/
I did make some modifications (mine are in red below) , but here is the basic recipe:
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons) I used 2 1/2, and zested the skin of one lemon.
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 1 (2-inch) piece Parmesan Cheese rind, optional. This is not optional. this is mandatory. Use it in all soups. It adds.....something I can't quite put my finger on, but use it.
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
- 1 cup (about 2 1/2 ounces) spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces, *see Cook's Note I used Orzo, about 3/4 cup. It will "grow" in the broth, so you don't need a ton.
- 2 cups diced cooked rotisserie chicken, preferably breast meat . I pan seared about 8 chicken tenders, and then roughly diced them.
- 1 cup grated Parmesan Cheese.
- Kosher Salt
- One teaspoon of dried thyme.
- One shallot
- One can of diced tomatoes, rinsed and drained.
Directions:
Pan-sear chicken tenders in stock pot until cooked through, remove to a platter. Add sliced shallot and olive oil and "deglaze" pan. The proceed with rest of recipe.
In a large stockpot, bring the chicken broth, lemon juice, bay leaf, and Parmesan rind to a boil over medium-high heat.
Add the carrots and simmer until tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add tomatoes.
Add the broken pasta and cook until the pasta is tender, for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken and heat through, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and the Parmesan rind and discard. Stir in 1/2 of the cheese and the parsley. Season with salt, to taste. Ladle the soup into serving bowls and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
Here are a few pictures:
Pan-sear chicken tenders in stock pot until cooked through, remove to a platter. Add sliced shallot and olive oil and "deglaze" pan. The proceed with rest of recipe.
In a large stockpot, bring the chicken broth, lemon juice, bay leaf, and Parmesan rind to a boil over medium-high heat.
Add the carrots and simmer until tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add tomatoes.
Add the broken pasta and cook until the pasta is tender, for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken and heat through, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and the Parmesan rind and discard. Stir in 1/2 of the cheese and the parsley. Season with salt, to taste. Ladle the soup into serving bowls and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
Here are a few pictures:
It was delicious and very simple! Boyfirend loved it. It took about 30 minutes, including cooking the chicken, and a bit of slicing, dicing, and juicing! Plenty of time to get some work done and by work I mean watching the E! network Red Carpet pre-show of the Screen Actor's Guild Awards. I am totally digging Rose Byrne's Elie Saab jumpsuit. She looks effing awesome.
.
