Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo

Since it's the New Year, I was looking around for ways to cook a bit more healthful food for my husband and me. I received Elie Kreiger's cookbook for Christmas, and have started cooking some of the dishes I've found in there. This one was a fantastic excuse to use the last of our lemons from our lemon tree.

I love how the broth is thickened with whisked eggs, lemon juice, and hot broth, and not cream. It's a lovely thyme-scented soup, that gives you just enough oomph to feel satisfied, but not so much that you feel like you've inhaled an entire plate of pasta, or chicken.

Ingredients:

• 4 tsp olive oil
• 8 oz. of skinless boneless chicken, cut into bute sized chunks.
• Pinch of sea salt
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 medium carrot, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 2 tbsp of fresh thyme
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup orzo
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a heavy soup pot over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and add it to the pot. Stir occassionally until cooked through. Remove the chicken and set aside.

Add the remaining 2 tbsp of oil to the pot. Add the onion, celery, carrot, pepper, and thyme. Stir occasionally over medium-high heat until the vegetables are tender. Add 5 cups of the broth and bring to a boil. Add the orzo and let simmer until tender, about 8 minutes. Turn the heat to low.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining one cup of broth in a sauce pan until it is hot and not boiling. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Gently whisk the lemon juice into the eggs. Then gradually add the hot broth to the lemon and eggs mixture, while continuously whisking. Add the egg micture to the soup, stirring well until it is thickened. Do not let the soup come to a boil. Add the cooked chicken to the soup, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.