A Kitchen Keeper Original - Greek-Style Chicken Soup

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite..."Mm! Mm! Good!" That slogan and the sound of a can opener marked, and possibly marred, my childhood. My mother made only brand named soups, and it was years before I knew that the chicken and tomato varieties came from anything other than a can. When my children were small, I developed a reputation for making the best peanut butter sandwiches in town. My own children took them for granted but their friends couldn't get enough of them. My secret then was threefold. I used homemade sandwich bread, spread the bread with butter and then topped it with peanut butter and homemade jam. Over the years, I've also developed a reputation for soup that rivals that of my PB&J's. I, of course, have another secret that I'm going to share with you tonight. I use concentrated (double strength) beef and chicken broth to make my soups. Normally, I make my own stock and boil it down, but I've come across a couple of products that I use when my homemade version is not available. I also use them when I'm rushed and want a soup I can get on the table quickly. I like the reduced sodium varieties of Better Than Bouillon and the relatively new Knorr Homemade Stock. If you use either of these products, you'll want to use additional salt judiciously. I really like the soup I'm featuring tonight. Because it uses orzo and deli chicken, it is simple to make and you can have it on the table in less than 45 minutes. It's a riff on the famous Greek Avgolemono, but this chicken soup is more substantial and a perfect way to stimulate peckish appetites. I do hope you'll give it a try. I make it at least once a month and once you taste it I think you'll see why. Here is how this very simple soup is made.

Greek-Style Chicken Soup with Orzo...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-1/2 cups diced white onion
1-1/2 cups shredded carrots
1 teaspoon kosher salt
8 cups hot double strength chicken stock, divided use
1-1/2 cups orzo
3 cups boned coarsely chopped deli rotisserie chicken
4 eggs
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon fresh oregano

Directions:
1) Heat olive oil in a stock pot over medium high heat. Add chopped onion and salt and saute for 3-4 minutes, or until softened. Do not brown. Add carrot and saute for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle vegetables with salt.
2) Place 1 cup chicken stock in a blender. Add 7 cups of chicken stock to pot and bring to a simmer. Once stock is simmering, add orzo. Cover pot and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until orzo is tender. Add chicken and warm through.
3) Add eggs and lemon juice to the cooled stock in the blender and blend until the mixture is frothy.
4) Slowly pour egg mixture into hot soup, stirring constantly until it is completely mixed in. Do not bring to a boil or eggs will curdle. Add oregano and stir into soup. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. Yield: 6 servings.

                    

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               Chicken and Barley Soup                                            Chicken, Rice and Pea Soup

                     Chicken Long Rice                                                        Thai Rice Noodle Bowls

A Luau Favorite - My Recipe Rotation - Chicken Long Rice

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Yesterday, I warned that not all the recipes appearing in my private rotation would produce beautiful dishes. Chicken Long Rice is an example of what I meant. This homely dish, while far from beautiful, is the Hawaiian equivalent of Jewish Chicken Soup, and, despite its appearance, it has become a Polynesian favorite and is served at island family celebrations. I think those of you who try the recipe will find the soup addicting. It certainly was for me, and I was hooked when I had my first spoonful. Its mild flavor and the ease with which it can be prepared has made it one of my favorite light soups. Despite its name, this treasure of a soup contains no rice and the noodles with which it is made are actually bean threads that turn glassy as the soup cooks. These days bean thread noodles can be found in any large supermarket, so sourcing ingredients is not a problem for this dish. One caution. Don't cut back on the amount of black pepper or green onions that you add to the soup. They are both necessary ingredients and the quantities in the recipe are perfect for producing an authentically flavored Chicken Long Rice. This recipe first appeared on One Perfect Bite in September of 2008. Here is what I had to say about the soup back in the day.

Chicken and Barley Soup

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...It was bone-chilling cold today and the sun chose to hibernate rather than to fight back the clouds. It was not a day to inspire greatness. I thought I'd write some and finish packing away the last of the Christmas ornaments. As it worked out, I did neither, and I was left staring at a metaphoric empty page and looking at fire-red poinsettias that seemed glaringly bright and tasteless now that the holiday was over. While I was at it, I chucked my dinner plans and came very close to opening a can of soup for supper. I caught myself in the nick of time, though I couldn't shake the thought of soup by the fire on such a bone-chilling day. After checking what I had on hand, I decided to play with a recipe for Chicken and Barley soup that I had originally seen on the Panera website. You can see their version of the soup, which is made in a slow cooker, here. I had to do some ingredient substitution, so while I ran with their idea, I pulled out my stockpot and made the soup the old-fashioned way. I used what my butcher calls "scrap chicken" for my soup. While inelegant, I've found it to be great for making chicken soup or broth. The scraps are packed  in 2-1/2 to  3 pound packages that both contain chicken trimmings and fat. I render the fat, a trick learned in my childhood, and use it to saute the barley, as well as the chicken and vegetables, that make up the base of the soup. Once everything has been sauteed,  I add the wine and stock and let the pot simmer for about an hour, or until the barley is tender. I use one pan from start to finish and I must admit I was really pleased with the depth of flavor the soup developed in such a short period of time. If you can't find packaged chicken scraps, use the same weight of boneless chicken thighs and saute them in a combination of oil and butter. I really think you'll like this soup. Here is how it's made.

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.