Old-Fashioned Chicken and Orzo Soup

This recipe was shared with me by Eleanor Hinckley and is a very yummy and classy chicken soup!

Ingredients:
1 ½ lb skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts (I use boneless, skinless)
2 qt/2 L chicken stock
3 Tbs vegetable oil
1 medium onion, cut into ½-inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, smashed and minced
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
2 celery stalks, cut into ½-inch pieces
½ medium fennel bulb, leafy tops trimmed and bulb chopped into 1-inch pieces
½ cup orzo pasta
1 medium zucchini, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 ½ tsp kosher salt (3/4 tsp table salt)
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 Tbs finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme (or 1/3 that dried)
2 tsp finely chopped fresh sage (or 1/3 that dried)
1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary (or 1/3 that dried)
4 scallions, white and green parts, minced
About 4 cups baby spinach leaves

Directions:
1.     In a stockpot, combine the chicken breasts, stock, and 2 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the chicken is just cooked through.

2.     Remove the breasts from the stock, and pour the stock into another container. Let the stock stand for a minute or two, then, using a ladle or large spoon, skim off the fat that rises to the surface. You don’t need or want to skim it all off – it’s this rich fat that adds flavor to your soup – but you want to skim most of it off so your soup doesn’t end up greasy.

3.     When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones and shred the meat into small pieces, discarding the skin. Set aside.

4.     In the same stockpot, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, celery, and fennel; reduce the heat to medium-low; and sweat the vegetables, stirring often with a wooden spoon, for 6 to 8 minutes, or until they soften and the onion is translucent.

5.     Add the reserved stock, raise the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Add the orzo, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the orzo is almost completely cooked but still has a touch of bite. Add the zucchini, salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne. Bring back to a simmer and simmer for 2 minutes.

Add the reserved shredded chicken and stir in the parsley, thyme, sage, rosemary, scallions, and spinach. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Ladle into bowls and serve immediately. 

Recipe from Flour, Too