LEMON ORZO GREEK SOUP RECIPES

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine the chicken stock with 4 cups water, the carrot, celery, dill, shallot and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken breast, lower the heat to a bare simmer, and cook, turning occasionally, until just cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the breast to a plate. Remove the carrot, celery, dill and shallot from the broth, and discard.
• Raise the heat to a brisk simmer. Add the orzo to the broth and simmer until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Meanwhile, shred the chicken.
• Whisk the eggs with the lemon juice in a medium bowl. When the orzo is cooked, slowly ladle about 1/2 cup of the hot broth into the egg mixture while whisking constantly. Pour back into the saucepan and cook, whisking occasionally, just until the broth returns to a simmer, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the shredded chicken, and season with salt.
• Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with dill.

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine ground chicken, 1/4 cup dill, onion, carrot, rice, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon zest. Gently mix with your hands until well combined.
• Gently form the mixture into 24 meatballs, each about 1 1/4 inches in diameter, placing them on a plate or baking pan. Cover and chill for at least 20 minutes or up to 24 hours. This helps the meatballs keep their shape while cooking.
• In a large pot, bring stock to a boil over high heat. Reduce to medium and use a slotted spoon to carefully add meatballs to the pot. The broth should cover the tops of the meatballs by about 1/2 inch. If not, add a little water. Simmer gently, adjusting the heat so the broth doesn’t boil, until meatballs are cooked through and rice is tender, 25 to 35 minutes. (Break open a meatball to test it.) Remove pot from heat.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and lemon juice until just mixed. Slowly add a ladle of warm broth to egg-lemon mixture, whisking constantly. Whisk in another two ladles of broth to temper the egg mixture.
• Slowly drizzle the egg-lemon mixture back into the pot with the meatballs, stirring gently so you don’t break apart the meatballs. Return the pot to medium-low heat until it just starts to simmer. (Wait for a bubble or two to appear, but don’t let the pot boil.) The broth should be silky. Remove from heat, stir in remaining 1/2 cup dill. Taste and add salt and pepper, if needed. (It may need quite a bit of salt if you are starting with unsalted broth.) Garnish with nutmeg, if you like, and dill, and serve.