So, the other day I opened my Bon Appetit magazine and saw a delicious looking soup. Now usually when the weather is warm, I don’t want to go anywhere near soup. Unless it’s gazpacho, of course! That goes without saying. Did you know that in Spain we can buy prepared gazpacho in the grocery store in a carton like milk? And there are many brands and styles to choose from. And they are delicious. I haven’t found one I don’t like. But, I digress. Back to the Bon Appetiti soup. It looks easy enough just the way its written, but the real reason I’m so attracted to this recipe is it is called Lemony Chicken and Orzo Soup. Lemony. I love lemons. The original recipe calls for the soup to be served with a lemon wedge to squeeze over…that’s the only lemon in it! Well, that’s just not lemony enough and I see a perfect opportunity here to use the preserved lemon my sister-in-law gave me. Have you preserved lemons? It’s so easy and they are so delicious. I’ll post a recipe for preserving lemons later. On with the soup. This is the recipe I came up with. It is very close to the original but with the addition of preserved lemon and using a roasted chicken from the market. Yes, so sue me, I sometimes use a precooked chicken when I’m in a rush. They can be a little dry but are actually a big time saver and if you serve them right from the market without reheating they aren’t too bad, actually. Hey, we’re busy making wine and growing grapes sometimes I only have 30 minutes to get dinner on the table.
You can find the original Bon Appetit recipe here.
Complete the meal with a crispy light salad of butter lettuce with a lemony vinaigrette (substiture half of the vinegar for lemon juice ) and a glass of Bokisch Vineyards Garnacha Blanca.
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4 bowls
- 1 leek, chopped
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- ½ cooked chicken, taken off bone and in bite sized pieces
- 5 cups chicken stock
- ½ cup orzo
- 1 preserved lemon rind, finely chopped
- handful fresh dill, roghly chopped
- In a large stock pot, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add chopped leek and celery. Cook until soft but not browned, (~ 5 minutes), stirring often.
- Add the chicken stock (or water is an option) and bring to a boil.
- Add the orzo and preserved lemon, cook to al dente (~8 minutes)
- Take off the heat and add the chicken and dill.
