I made this terrific soup for lunch, too bad I halved the recipe because I would have loved more of it!! I used shredded rotisserie chicken so this came together in just a few minutes, if you follow the recipe as written and boil your own chicken it'll obviously take longer. I'm cool with the pre-cooked chicken route :) Oh, and I also used store-bought chicken stock, fresh lemon juice that I froze into ice cubes (confirming that it's a genius idea haha), long grain white rice, 2 eggs, and skipped the dill.
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)
- 2 quarts homemade chicken stock or low-sodium broth
- 1/2 cup rice or orzo
- 5 large eggs
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- kosher salt
- minced dill, for garnish
Directions
In a 3-quart saucepan, combine chicken breast halves with chicken stock. Heat
gently, using an instant-read thermometer to keep the temperature of the stock
around 150°F (65°C). Cook until the chicken breast reaches an internal temperature
of 145°F (63°C), about 1 hour, then remove from stock.
When chicken is cool enough to handle, dice or shred the meat and set aside.
Add rice or orzo to stock and cook until just tender, about 20 minutes for rice and
13 minutes for orzo. Lower heat to a bare simmer.
Meanwhile, in a heatproof bowl, combine eggs with 1/4 cup (60ml) lemon juice
and beat until lightly foamy.
While whisking constantly, ladle in about 1/2 cup of the hot chicken broth into
the eggs (it's okay if some rice or orzo comes along for the ride). Ladle in three or
four more 1/2-cup additions of the hot chicken broth while whisking, then whisk
the egg-broth mixture back into the broth in the saucepan. Season with salt.
Cook the chicken soup over low heat, whisking and scraping the sides constantly,
until thickened by the eggs. Taste soup, then, if desired, whisk in remaining lemon
juice until your desired level of lemon flavor is reached. Season with salt again,
if needed.
Add chicken meat, then ladle into bowls. Garnish with dill and serve.
