The English Kitchen: Chicken & Orzo Soup

Still no working heater. It appears that the problem is not with the stove, but with the electricity in the house, so we are now waiting for the landlord to pull his finger out. He is usually pretty good so no worries. In the meantime, we have the reliable hob.

Today I made a delicious and hearty Chicken & Orzo soup from us. It was also very easy to make.

You need leeks and celery. One leek and one stem. Make sure you clean your leeks very well. There is nothing worse than sand in your food. They are very easy to clean. Cut one side of the leek in one go and fan it a little, while you let cold water run over it. Sand simply needs to be washed away.

Then you can cut it in half moons or coins. I also always trim my celery. I use a sharp knife to pull the strings away. Strings can be a bit unpleasant, depending on the age of your celery. I don't worry about the tender inner stems, but sometimes the outer stems can be really filthy, so those are the ones I unravel! This is chopped.

The prepared vegetables are then softened in a little olive oil. Not that it gets brown. . . so it's soft.

I use gelstock pots and boiling water for my chicken broth. This took 4 gel jars. If you have chicken broth in the freezer or can. Just use that. Bring it to the boil and throw in some boneless chicken thighs.

Cook these until they are soft and no longer pink and scoop them out with a skimmer. You cut or shred them to add at the end, meanwhile bring the broth back to the boil and add your orzo and your secret ingredient.

Secret ingredient? Yes! His dried dill weed. You can also use freshly chopped dill weed. I just used dry today, because that's all I had. It is just enough to add a layer of flavor that is very pleasant and that makes people smack on their lips. Don't worry, it won't taste like dill. Trust me on this.

Once the orzo is ready, shred / slice the chicken and place it back in the soup. . .

Heat through, adjust the seasoning and pour it into heated bowls for your very happy family. I love crackers with mine, Todd loves bread. You can serve lemon wedges with it to squeeze the soup. I forgot. Bad Me. The hint of lemon is a real taste booster!

Yield: 4Writer: Marie Rayner

Chicken & Orzo Soup

preparation time: 5 minutescooking time: 35 minutestotal time: 40 minutes

Simple, delicious and filling. I love mine with crispy crackers. Todd, he likes bread. Everybody is happy.

ingredients:

• 1 olive oil from TBS
• 1 fresh leek, halved, cut lengthwise, cleaned and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 celery stem, trimmed and chopped
• Thickness of 3/4 pound chicken without skin
• 1 1/2 liter chicken broth (6 cups)
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 105g orzo pasta (1/2 cup)
• 1 TBS of dried dill weed
• Serving lemon wedges (optional)

instructions:

1. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large pan. Add the leek and celery, cook, stirring occasionally, over medium low until softening without tanning, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the chicken and the stock. Bring it to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes until the chicken is tender and soft and no longer pink. Remove with a skimmer and set aside. Bring the broth in the pot to the boil, add the dill and orzo. Cook until soft, about 8 minutes (or no matter how long it stays on your orzo package). Cut the chicken into cubes, grate it and return it to the pot. Taste and adjust the spices with salt and pepper. Heat up. Pour into heated bowls and serve with lemon wedges to squeeze. (optional) Delicious!

I hope it doesn't take long before our stove is working again. I want to bake something! I have seen some delicious breads and I want to try sourdough again. In the meantime, we enjoy things like this tasty soup. Enjoy your meal!