creamy lemon orzo chickpea soup
warm and cozy.
I’ve made this soup three times in the past two months . . . I LOVE IT. I am so excited to share this one with you all. It’s a hearty yet light vegetarian soup, that’s super creamy but has no cream! Instead the recipe calls for eggs, to thicken up the soup and create its silky consistency. This recipe comes from the lovely Ali of Gimme Some Oven. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS
olive oil to taste
3 carrots / peeled and diced
one small white onion / diced
5 cloves garlic / minced
10 cups vegetable broth
1 cup orzo
3 large eggs
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice / about 4 lemons
2 handfuls of fresh baby spinach
salt and pepper to taste
3 - 4 tablespoons fresh dill
DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium high heat. Add onion, carrots and garlic to the pot and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add broth and chickpeas, and stir to combine. Continue cooking until the soup reaches a simmer. Then reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a steady low simmer.
Add orzo and stir to combine. Continue cooking until the orzo is cooked to your liking, stirring occasionally so that the orzo doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
Meanwhile, as the orzo is cooking, whisk together the eggs and lemon juice in a separate mixing bowl until combined. Ladle out 1 cup of the hot soup broth, and while whisking the egg mixture with one hand continuously, slowly drizzle the broth into the eggs until combined. Repeat with 1 more cup of hot broth.
Once the orzo is ready to go, remove the stockpot from the heat. Then while stirring the entire soup with one hand continuously, slowly drizzle the egg mixture into the soup until combined. The egg mixture should make the soup nice and creamy. (But if the eggs look like they are scrambling when you add them in — kind of like in egg drop soup — stop and let the soup cool down for a few minutes before adding the rest of the eggs.)
Return the soup to low heat. Stir in the spinach and dill and stir for 1-2 minutes until the spinach has wilted. Then taste and season the soup with a few pinches of salt and black pepper to taste.
Serve and enjoy!