Enter chicken orzo soup. It's basically like the chicken noodle soup of your childhood sick days grew up into a pot full of goodness and fresh herbs that you could eat all day long. Like any recipe, it's easy to swap out ingredients to fit your taste. If you don't want/have orzo, you could use a different type of pasta (although these little rice-shaped pieces of orzo fill your spoon really well, sans messy splashes). Or, you could substitute the rotisserie chicken with sausage, pancetta, or more veggies. I've adapted this from the amazing cookbook Flour, Too, whose namesake restaurant chain is located in Boston. And you can bet Bostonians know a thing or two about how to make a good winter soup. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
½ of
a cooked rotisserie chicken, shredded
4-5
cans chicken stock
3
tbsp olive oil
1
medium onion, chopped
4
cloves garlic, minced
2
large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 in pieces (or 1 cup shredded carrots)
2
celery stalks, cut into 1/2 in pieces
¾ cup
orzo pasta
1
medium zucchini, cut into 1/2 in pieces
1
1/2 tsp salt
1/2
tsp pepper
1/4
tsp paprika
1/8
cayenne pepper
2
tsp thyme, finely chopped
2
tsp sage, finely chopped
1
tsp rosemary, finely chopped
4
cups baby spinach leaves
Directions:
- In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, and celery. Reduce the heat to medium-low and sweat the vegetables for about 8 minutes, stirring often until almost tender to the bite.
- Add the chicken stock, raise the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Add the orzo, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until the orzo is cooked. Add the zucchini, salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne. Let simmer for 2 minutes.
- Add the shredded chicken and stir in the thyme, sage, rosemary, and spinach. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve immediately.
