Source: Cooking Light, December 2008
We started this soup by making stock on a Sunday, which made the house smell really good, then finished the soup on Monday. It turned to be a rainy and cool day–a great soup night. When we first put the orzo in, it didn’t seem like much so we added more–don’t do that–it’s plenty! We ended up adding more liquid to make more soup, but the orzo really expands.
Yield
8 servings (serving size: about 1 3/4 cups soup)
Ingredients
- 1 (4-pound) whole chicken
- 2 carrots, peeled, cut in 1-inch pieces
- 2 celery stalks, cut in 1-inch pieces
- 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
- 6 garlic cloves, crushed
- 4 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 cups water
- 1 1/3 cups chopped carrot
- 1 1/4 cups chopped onion
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 8 ounces uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- Lemon wedges (optional)
- Coarsely cracked black pepper (optional)
Preparation
1. Remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken. Place chicken in a large Dutch oven. Add 2 chopped carrots, 2 chopped celery stalks, and next 5 ingredients (through bay leaves) to pan. Add 6 cups water; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes.
2. Remove chicken from pan; place chicken in a bowl. Chill 15 minutes. Discard skin; remove chicken from bones, discarding bones. Chop chicken into bite-sized pieces; cover and chill. Strain broth mixture through a sieve into a large bowl; discard solids. Cool broth mixture to room temperature. Cover and chill 8 to 24 hours. Skim fat from surface; discard.
3. Add enough water to broth to equal 9 cups; place broth mixture in a large Dutch oven. Add 1 1/3 cups carrot, 1 1/4 cups onion, 1 cup celery, and salt to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add reserved chicken, and simmer 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Keep warm.
4. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Add pasta to pan with chicken and broth mixture; stir in parsley, rind, and juice. Garnish each serving with lemon wedges and cracked black pepper, if desired.
Nutritional Information
- Calories: 235 (20% from fat)
- Fat: 5.2g (sat 1.3g,mono 1.8g,poly 1.1g)
- Protein: 21.3g
- Carbohydrate: 24.6g
- Fiber: 2.3g
- Cholesterol: 53mg
- Iron: 1.1mg
- Sodium: 679mg
- Calcium: 39mg
