Lemon and Cilantro Chicken Soup

One of my goals for this winter was to try out a bunch of soup recipes.  For our wedding, my sister and her husband bought us an amazing All Clad pots and pans set, which includes a huge stock pot. I have loved using it to make our spaghetti sauce and I think it's also perfect for making soups.

Last Saturday we had our first snow of the year so I thought it was fitting to make our first soup of the season. The recipe didn't quite work out, which is why you're just hearing about it now. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good, although it did get better as we ate the leftovers throughout the week.

This week we tried out a Lemon and Cilantro Chicken Soup recipe from the Bon Appetit cookbook. It made the house smell amazing and it turned out pretty good too.

The first step is to saute the chicken.  Remove the chicken and then, leaving the chicken juices in the pot, make the broth by simmering a bunch of onions, plum tomatoes, spices, and chicken broth. Yums.

The recipe called for orecchiette, but our grocery store didn't have any so I substituted orzo. I slightly undercooked the chicken and the orzo before I added them to the finished broth to simmer for a bit, knowing that they would continue cooking in the broth. Both ended up being cooked perfectly!

The soup turned out pretty good but overall I think it was a little too lemony for me. If I were to make it again I'd add a little less lemongrass when making the broth. It's definitely worth making though. It was so light and clean tasting.  We ate ours with a side of tortilla chips. What a simple and easy meal that goes perfectly with a cold winter day!