Lemon Chicken Soup with Pasta and Artichokes - who would have thought of that combination? Leave it up to my son, Brian. He loves good food and gets to try quite a bit of it at the Country Club of Missouri, where he works during the school year. He is a student at the University of Missouri - Columbia. He has been home for the past month and is enjoying home cooked meals.
The other day, as we buckled down for more snow and temperatures below zero, I bought a cooked roaster chicken and decided I'd use it to make some soup. It seems like every week, over the past month, we have been making soup as one of our dinners. It's great because it makes 8-10 servings and after dinner it becomes lunches for the rest of the week.
As I was getting ready to make the soup, Brian brought a box of Stellette pasta from the pantry and asked if I could put it in the soup. He then began telling me about a lemon chicken orzo soup that he enjoys at the country club. "And there are artichokes in it." It made me think...artichokes in a soup? That might be delicious. "Oh, and tomatoes, too." Well, we had all the ingredients so "let the soup experiment begin!". Chop some shallots and garlic, grab the chicken stock, along with a jar (or two) of marinated artichoke hearts, a can of diced tomatoes and a lemon, we were ready to go.
After an hour, we had lemon chicken soup with pasta and artichoke hearts ready to go and I can say, "It was amazing!" There was a slight tanginess to the soup which came from the lemon and marinated artichoke hearts and it blended so well with the chicken and pasta. A few diced tomatoes added color as well as taste. We finished our first bowl and Brian was back for seconds. I brought it to work a few days later and got rave reviews. Everyone thought it was wonderful, especially the artichoke hearts. This recipe is a keeper, and Friends Food Family is a great place for Brian to find simple recipes when he gets back to school. As much as he made the soup with me, he will fall short on the ingredients in a month or so.
The next time we make the soup, I would like to try it with orzo. Orzo has that rice type of flavor and feel in a soup. I think it could be delicious. This is an easy and quick soup that anyone can make. Hopefully, Brian will be able to re-create this amazing recipe when he gets back to Missouri. Fingers crossed!
Ingredients for Lemon Chicken Soup with Pasta and Artichoke Hearts:
- 1 - 3-5 lb roaster chicken, cooked and chopped (white and dark meats)
- 12 cups of chicken broth (2 -48 ounce boxes of chicken broth)
- 2 large shallots, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 3-5 sprigs of thyme
- 1 cup of dried stellette, or any other small pasta
- 1 (14-15 ounce) can of diced tomatoes with juices
- 2 (8 ounce) jars of quartered and marinated artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed
- 1 lemon, cut in half
- salt and pepper, to taste
Preparation:
1. In a large dutch oven, over medium heat, add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once the olive oil is hot, add the shallots and garlic and cook for 5-7 minutes or until the onions are translucent and slightly golden.
2. Add the 12 cups of chicken broth and the chopped chicken. Add the bay leaf, sprigs of thyme and the lemon halves. Increase the heat and bring to a slight boil.
3. Once you have achieved a slight boil, add the pasta. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked. Stir regularly so the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom.
4. Add the tomatoes and the artichoke hearts. Cook for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add salt and pepper as needed. Remove the bay leaf, sprigs of thyme and lemons before serving.
5. Makes 8-10 servings.
Written by Tricia White
