Chicken, Orzo and Lemon Soup

I was trying to think of a way to use up the rest of the chicken from our roasted chicken dinner last night when I thought of that Greek lemony soup, Avgolemono, its one of my husbands childhood favorites and I thought maybe I could make a chicken orzo soup that echoed the same flavors. It’s a play on a classic chicken noodle, but its beautifully perfumed with the lemon zest and juice, and it’s a great way to make that roasted chicken dinner stretch into a couple nights worth of meals.

Chicken, Orzo and Lemon Soup, serves 10
2 chicken carcasses, plus
5 cups chicken meat, (or about 3 large chicken breasts on the bone)
8 cups chicken stock
1 cup white wine
2 yellow onions, small diced
1 large head celery, small diced
4 large carrots, peeled and small diced
1 lb orzo
4 cups water
2 large lemons, zest and juice
½ cup flat leaf parsley, minced

In a large soup pot, add the two carcasses and, (if you are using the chickens from roasted lemon chicken, the roasted lemons)

Add eight cups stock and bring to a simmer.

Add the onion to a bowl, add the celery to the same bowl, add the carrots to the same bowl.

When the carcasses have been simmering about thirty minutes, remove them from the broth with a large fork or Chinese strainer.

You can also use the strainer to remove the lemons or any other extra material from the chickens.

Add all the vegetables to the broth.

Add the 5 cups chicken meat.

Add the box of orzo and cover with four cups of water.

Put a lid on the pot and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let simmer another 10 minutes, or until the orzo has plumped up.

Remove the lid and turn the heat off.

Add the zest and juice of two lemons plus the freshly chopped flat leaf parsley.

Season to taste with kosher salt and black pepper.

Serve hot and Enjoy!