Soup: The Series

I thought it might be fun to do a weekly installment on soup. Planning to make a soup each week will give me the opportunity to try some new recipes that are piling up and revisit some favorites too. It all started with this yoga class I signed up for. Dinner is tough on yoga night (Wed.) I want to eat early so I don't have to come home and eat late after class. Dear husband doesn't like to eat the minute he gets home from work. Soup proved to be the solution. I can make the soup in the daytime and eat when I want. Dear husband can reheat the soup when he's ready for dinner (and supplement with cheese as he is known to do.)

This is a great one to start with. It's a little different tasting than regular chicken soup, but still comforting and familiar. I like that it uses leftover chicken because we regularly have that around our house. Saffron is the only unusual ingredient and I really think you could leave it out. The lemon and thyme flavors are what stand out in this soup. The lemon is the best part. It gives it sort of a Meditteranean taste. And I think it would be wonderful if you weren't feeling so good. I halved this entire recipe because I only had a cup of leftover chicken and because I was trying it for the first time. Also I used fresh corn, cut from the cob, and I simmered it in the broth for the last 10 minutes with the vegetables. I will definitely make this one again and I might consider adding another veg, like spinach toward the end. I highly recommend this one. It's even better the next day.

Golden Chicken, Corn & Orzo Soup

by Jennifer Armentrout

To learn more, read the article:Quick & Delicious: Weeknight Comfort Food
Serves five to six as a main course.

ingredients

2 Tbs. olive oil

2 large ribs celery, finely diced

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 pinch saffron threads

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

2 qt. homemade or low-salt chicken broth

2 cups finely diced or shredded cooked chicken (such as leftover roast chicken)

1/2 cup orzo

1 cup frozen corn

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice; more to taste

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

how to make

tip: You might wonder why the orzo is cooked separately. There are two reasons. If you boiled the orzo directly in the soup, the starch from the pasta would cloud the soup broth, and the orzo would also suck up too much of the soup broth as it cooked. Boiling the pasta separately solves both of these problems.

Bring a medium saucepan of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the celery, onion, saffron, and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, add the chicken and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. While the soup simmers, cook the orzo in the boiling salted water until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain.

Add the drained orzo, corn, and parsley to the soup and cook just until the corn is heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and season to taste with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice, if needed.

From Fine Cooking 74, pp. 90c