Chicken, Lime and Orzo Soup

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...A real deluge, decidedly unlike Shakespeare's gentle rain, forced me to cancel plans for a barbecue tonight. The pantry here is much smaller than those I've had in the past, so last minute changes to the menu are a bit harder to pull off. I, nevertheless, put together a meal that the Silver Fox, who had been looking forward to his steak, actually enjoyed. It was a soup and sandwich supper that came from different areas of the country and a neglected corner of my recipe archives. Tonight's soup, which most of you missed first time around, is making an encore performance, while the wraps, which I'll feature tomorrow night, have Hispanic overtones. Both the soup and the wraps are simple to prepare and they make for a light and pleasing meal that was near perfect for a rainy summer night. I do hope you'll try both of them. Let's start with the soup. Here is how it's made.


Chicken, Lime and Orzo Soup...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of Bon Appetit magazine

Ingredients:
3/4 cup orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium white onion, thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 jalapeño chiles, thinly sliced
3/4 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into matchstick-size strips
5 cups low-salt chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 large tomato, seeded, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Fresh cilantro sprigs

Directions:
1) Cook orzo in pot of boiling salted water until just tender. Drain well.
2) Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and chiles. Sauté until onion begins to brown, about 4 minutes. Add chicken and sauté 1 minute. Add broth, lime juice, and tomato. Simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes. Mix in orzo, then chopped cilantro. Season soup with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into 4 bowls. Garnish with cilantro sprigs. Yield: 4 servings.

                    

                                                    Older Posts

               One Year Ago Today:                                                   Two Years Ago Today:

         Rosemary and Onion Focaccia                         Skillet Baked Eggs with Asparagus and Herbs

                 Three Years Ago Today:                                              Four Years Ago Today: 

             Homemade Almond Paste                                               Smoked Salmon Quesadillas