Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup is fantastic! This delicious Greek soup is made with lemon, rotisserie chicken, veggies, and orzo cooked in chicken broth and wonderfully seasoned. It's marvelous for weeknight suppers, especially on cold, blustery days. Healthy and low calorie.
Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.
Add the carrots, onions, celery, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, lemon rind, salt and pepper.
Sauté veggies and seasonings over medium heat until vegetables begin to soften.
This will take about 5 minutes.
Add the chicken stock and lemon juice.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and add the chicken and orzo.
Simmer until orzo is cooked through approximately 9 minutes.
Just before serving stir in the parsley and remove the bay leaves.
Sprinkle with salt and black pepper, and garnish with Romano cheese, if desired.
Notes
NOTE: Orzo really absorbs the liquid in this soup so it will thicken the longer the soup sits out. You may have to add additional broth or water to thin the soup.
NOTE: While the recipe calls for Romano cheese as a garnish, I thought the soup tasted better without it.
NOTE: Add at least 30 minutes preparation time if you need to debone a chicken.