The Sandwich King shows a little versatility and shows us how to make something that is decidedly not a sandwich: Chicken Orzo soup.
As cold weather looms, the one thing we can all count on almost as much as the leaves turning is people feeling a little under the weather. Whether you have a back-to-school bug or you’re just feeling run down, this chicken orzo soup recipe is easy to make and will make you feel better.
This soup is a unique spin on the classic chicken noodle soup that you grew up with, and it’s not just the starch that’s different. Everything starts off traditionally enough, with a base of shallots (onions are fine, we promise), carrot, celery, and garlic. Rather than trying to get too cute with the herbs and flavors, Jeff keeps that pretty straightforward too: he uses non-sodium chicken stock, thyme, and bay leaves, all before adding uncooked chicken.
Let the chicken cook for about fifteen minutes (this is how you make sure you don’t have to worry about the fact that you’re putting raw chicken into your soup), and shred the chicken by hand. Once you’ve shredded the chicken, put it back into your broth, and add lemon juice, lemon zest, and butter.
The finishing touches are where things deviate from more traditional soup recipes. First off, Jeff doesn’t add the orzo to the pot of soup, rather, he adds al dente cooked orzo to the bowl, adding the broth over the orzo itself when it is ready to serve. Then he crumbles butter crackers over the top, adds a pinch of tarragon, and garnishes the whole deal with a lemon slice. While we’re kind of on the fence about the butter crackers, all the citrus adds a nice bright element to a broth that cuts through some of the richness created by the chicken and the butter.
