Coney Island: Chicken Lemon Orzo Soup

My husband and I began dating in college. Once we met, we were instantly inseparable and pretty much spent every waking hour together that we weren’t in class. (And we did find a way to take a couple classes together, even with different respective majors.) On days that we had a short break in between classes for lunch we would grab a bite at a Coney Island that was just a block from campus.

I was some type of vegan or vegetarian at the time, and would order a simple plate of hummus and pita. My husband had his regular order as well, which was chicken lemon rice soup and two “Coneys”. While I’m pleased to say that we’ve since moved up in the world as far as restaurants that we frequent, and our visits to Coney Islands are few and far between. However, my husband will still order chicken lemon rice soup wherever he can find it.

Lucky him, he found it just the other day cooking on the stove in our kitchen! I was flipping through Ellie Krieger’s The Food You Crave a few nights ago and saw a recipe for this type of soup, but made with orzo instead of rice. The soup is very easy, and he loved, loved, loved it! As soon as he tasted it, he instantly informed me that I would be making it again soon. It has been in our fridge for just about 24 hours, and he has already snuck back with a spoon to sneak a taste several times.

I doubled Ellie’s recipe to have a bigger batch to get through the week. I also skipped her step of cooking chicken breasts, and instead added the (already cooked) meat from a rotisserie chicken at the end. I carefully tempered the eggs in a bowl with the hot broth, not in a saucepan (as the recipe calls for), and I thought that worked just fine. This soup gets thicker with each second you let it sit. My husband likes that consistency, but if you find that your soup has become too thick after a day or so, you can add more broth to it. I also added a few extra tablespoons of lemon juice, to make it extra lemony. Next time I might add some lemon zest too.

Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo
(From The Food You Crave)
Ingredients
4 teaspoons olive oil
8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into small chunks
1 pinch salt, plus more to taste
1 medium onion , diced (about 1 ½ cups)
2 stalks celery, diced (about ½ cup)
1 medium carrot, diced (about ½ cup)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup orzo (preferably whole wheat)
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions
Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with the salt, add it to the pot, and cook, stirring, a few times, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a dish and set aside.

Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the pot. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and thyme and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add 5 cups of the broth and bring to a boil. Add the orzo and let simmer until tender, about 8 minutes. Turn the heat down to low to keep the soup hot but not boiling.

Warm the remaining 1 cup broth in a small saucepan until it is hot but not boiling. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Gradually whisk the lemon juice into the eggs. Then gradually add the hot broth to the egg-lemon mixture, whisking all the while. Add the mixture to the soup, stirring well until the soup is thickened. Do not let the soup come to a boil. Add the cooked chicken to the soup. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Mom's Favorite Orzo: Baked Orzo with Fontina and Peas

I made this recipe for the first time a couple years ago when my husband and I had my parents over for dinner one night. My mom (a fellow pescatarian) loved it, and started making it herself all the time. It is delicious as a side dish, but can also work as a vegetarian entrée.

I like to rotate the menu for my Christmas dinner each year, and I decided that this family favorite should have a place on the table this year. It worked well for the holiday, but is also good any night of the week! Serve it alongside a meat entrée, like Baked Chicken, or as an entrée itself with a simple side salad.

Baked Orzo with Fontina and Peas
(From Giada's Kitchen)
Ingredients
4 cups chicken broth (Kate uses vegetable broth)
1 pound orzo pasta
3 tablespoons butter, plus more to grease the baking dish (Kate uses cooking spray)
1 onion, chopped
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced (Kate uses cremini mushrooms)
1 cup Marsala wine
½ cup heavy cream
4 ounces shredded fontina cheese (about 1 cup)
4 ounces diced fresh mozzarella cheese (about 1 cup)
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
½ cup bread crumbs
¼ cup grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400° F. Butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish.

Bring the chicken/vegetable broth to a boil over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. Add the orzo and cook until almost tender, about 7 minutes. Pour the orzo and the broth into a large bowl. Set aside.

Meanwhile, melt the butter over medium heat in a medium skillet. Add the onions and sauté until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to sauté until the mushrooms are beginning to turn golden around the edges, about 7 minutes. Add the Marsala. Scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan and cook until the Marsala has reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the mushroom mixture to the orzo in the large bowl. Add the cream, fontina, mozzarella, peas, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.

In a small bowl combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, and dried thyme. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture on top of the pasta. Bake until golden, about 25 minutes.

Recipe Sharing: Summer Orzo Salad

I’ve been sharing recipes through this blog for a couple months now, and I’m also excited that readers have started sharing recipes with me! My friend Christina emailed me with several of her favorite recipes last week. As I read through them, I grew really excited because they all incorporated so many ingredients that I enjoy cooking with. It was hard to decide which one to begin with, even with the recommendations she narrowed down for starters.

Her Summer Orzo Salad caught my eye because I already had all (but one) of the ingredients in my pantry or refrigerator. At first glance, the salad sounds sweet with the juice and fruit, however the mustard, salt, and garlic add a savory element to it. The one ingredient I lacked was the raisins, so I substituted dried cranberries instead, which tasted great and added a hint of fall to an otherwise summery salad. I also only needed 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil.

The was absolutely delicious and very easy to make! I can’t wait to make this salad again to share with other people!

Summer Orzo Salad
Ingredients
1 lb. box orzo pasta
1/3 cup orange juice
½ cup dry apricots, chopped
½ cup golden raisins (or dried cranberries)
Zest from 1 lemon
1 Tbs. garlic, minced
1 tsp whole grain mustard
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 (4 oz.) package goat cheese, crumbled
½ cup basil, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup pinenuts, toasted

Directions
Cook pasta al dente, drain and rinse with cold water. Allow to cool at room temperature. While pasta is cooling, combine orange juice, apricots, raisins, lemon zest, garlic, mustard, salt, and pepper. Fruit will plump and soften slightly. Toss Fruit mixture with cooled pasta, cheese, basil, olive oil, and pine nuts. Chill for at least one hour before serving.