Greek Lemon Orzo Soup with Chicken

5 from 1 vote

This tangy, lemony soup is the essence of Greece with every delicious slurp. Hearty, healthy, filling and light, it's a Mediterranean marvel.

Prep Time10

1 15

Total Time1 35

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: Greek, Mediterranean

Servings:

Calories: 62kcal

Author: Lee

Heat the oil in a large pan over a moderate heat. Fry chicken both sides for about 5 minutes until browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add the onion, celery, garlic and zucchini to the pan and gently fry for around 8 minutes until soft and lightly golden.
Return the chicken to the pan and add salt & pepper and the lemon zest.
Add 3 cups of water to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low.
Simmer for 50 minutes then remove the chicken and shred or chop (discard skin and bone). Set aside.
Add orzo and cook for around 8 minutes (or whatever your packet instructions direct).
Return the chicken to the pan and pour in the cream and lemon juice and bring to simmer.
Turn off heat, check seasoning and serve.
Serve in bowls scattered with some freshly chopped parsley.

This soup is best enjoyed hot and right away. Adding pasta to a soup shortens its lifespan as the pasta will continue to soak up the liquid and the soup can quickly become stodgy. However, orzo is pretty robust and it won't break up, so I've found this soup is actually pretty good in the fridge or freezer. One tip would be to add a little chicken broth if it's become too thick. Reheat until piping hot.
Fridge - it'll be fine for 3-4 days in the fridge in airtight containers.
Freezer - freeze for up to 3 months in airtight containers.

No orzo? Fear not, if you can't get hold of orzo, substitute with other small soup pasta shapes like macaroni, anelli, ditalini or broken up spaghetti or capellini. You can also use some regular long grain rice.
Avgolemono technique - if you DO want to make this soup using the traditional avgolemono technique. At the end of cooking, before adding the cream and lemon juice, instead which together the lemon juice, cream and two egg yolks until combined. Add 1 ladleful of soup into the egg yolks and beat in. Then another ladleful of soup and repeat once more. Then, pour this into the soup and stir over a moderate heat until thick and creamy.