How many veggies can you put into a chicken soup? This recipe is packed with eight different vegetables, including leeks and fennel. The other fun surprise is the beautiful creamy texture of the soup without an ounce of cream in it. The creaminess comes from the three eggs added in toward the end, talk about some added protein! And lastly, the bright flavors of lemon and dill add at the end, elevate this from just a simple chicken soup.
Lemony Chicken Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 leek, white park, cleaned and diced
- 4 stalks asparagus, 1/4 inch diagonal cut
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced and diced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup orzo, cooked
- 2 chicken breast
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 2 cup fresh spinach
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly cracked pepper
- 1/3 cup fresh dill leaves, torn or use freeze-dried
Instructions
- Heat large soup pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil. Add the carrots, onion,leeks, red pepper, fennel, and celery .Saute until fragrant and tender, about 10 minutes. Add in the garlic,peas and asapargus, let saute for about 4 minutes.
- Add in the broth, and raw chicken breast. Cook chicken breast until they are done, about 165F internal temperature. Pull out cooked chicken breast, shred or cut into cubes. Return back to the pot.
- Orzo: Cook in a seperate pot. Drain and rinse. Lay out on tray and drizzle with olive oil. Toss and set aside for when ready to use.
- Eggs: Whisk the eggs and lemon juice together in a small bowl. The idea here is to warm up the egg mixture slowly (without scrambling the eggs). Slowly add a scoop of the soup into the egg mixture. Then add your warmed egg mixture back to the soup pot – slowly, slowly, slowly, stirring constantly, until smooth and creamy.
- Final touches: Finish by stirring in your spinach, salt, pepper, and dill and adjust seasonings to taste!
Notes
Freeze-dried herbs will measure the same as fresh, and give you the best flavor compared to dried.
Keep the cooked pasta separate from the soup. Portion in the bowls as you serve instead of adding to the soup. The pasta will absorb the broth and continue to cook which can lead to a mushy pasta in your soup.