Chickpea Orzo Soup with Lemon & Dill

Well hi!

So, you know how I was talking about my curious lack of motivation in my last post? Little did I know, when I was writing that, what was in store for me.

On Feb. 20, I came down with the flu. It wasn’t too bad at first. Okay, I mean, it was miserable and all with high fevers and aches and pains and everything that goes along with the flu, but I thought I was doing okay.

Every day, though, I got a little worse. Six days in, I decided to drag myself into the doctor just to be on the safe side. Much to my surprise, I learned the flu had developed into pneumonia.

Luckily, we caught it early, and thanks to antibiotics, I am on the mend. But these past two weeks? A total blur! Like, I’m looking around and it’s already March 6?! How in the heck?!

After a couple of weeks of non-stop soup for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you’d think I’d be sick of it. But au contraire! Instead, I’ve been dreaming of a sort of comforting lemony chicken soup situation. But with chickpeas instead of chicken because, you know, I’m a vegetarian and all that. I finally worked up enough energy to make it happen yesterday and oh. Oh my. This stuff is delicious.

It reminds me a bit of this chickpea and rice soup, but Chickpea Orzo Soup with Lemon & Dill comes across, to me, as a bit more special. First, I keep the veggies a bit chunkier than my norm, with the goal of everything being about the same size as the chickpeas. It makes for a heartier soup with nice consistent bites.

But what happens to this bad boy at the end of the process is really where it’s at, because you stir in a bunch of freshly squeezed lemon juice and toss in a big handful of fresh dill and oh mama!

Hearty, soothing, addicting, full of flavor. And exactly what I hope to have on hand the next time I have the flu.

(Please, oh please let that be many, many years from now.)

Stay healthy out there!

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Yield: Serves 4

Chickpea Orzo Soup with Lemon & Dill

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 20 minutes

Total: 30 minutes

A hearty squeeze of lemon and loads of fresh dill liven up this chunky veggie-and-chickpea soup.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium leek, halved and sliced (about 1 cup chopped)
• 1 medium carrot, medium dice (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 medium stalk celery, sliced (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/3 cup uncooked orzo
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt + more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper + more to taste
• 1/4 cup freshly chopped dill
• Juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice)

Directions:

1. Set a medium soup pot over low heat. Add olive oil, leeks, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies are tender, about 10 minutes.
2. Add garlic and turmeric and cook, stirring frequently, for one more minute.
3. Add the vegetable broth, chickpeas, orzo, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Stir to combine. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until the orzo is tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Remove from heat. Squeeze in the lemon juice and stir in the dill. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if desired (I add at least another 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt, but I like things on the salty side.)
5. Serve with additional dill as garnish.

Note that this soup actually doesn’t keep all that well because the orzo continues to cook and swell up. It’s still perfectly edible, but the soup thickens quite a bit after it sits. If you want to make it ahead, I suggest cooking it up to the point where you add the orzo. When reheating, bring to a boil, add the orzo, and continue from there.

Adapted from Bon Appetit

// All images and text ©Kare for Kitchen Treaty.

Kare

Kare is a vegetarian home cook living among carnivores. She loves creating irresistible and flexible recipes that help multi-vore families like hers keep the peace - deliciously.