Greek Lemon Chicken Soup (Avgolemono)

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 14.5 ounce container Mirepoix- a mixture of celery, carrots and onions (I love Trader Joes)
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 10 ounce pouches of organic free-range chicken bone broth (I love Trader Joes)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup orzo
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pound organic free-range chicken tenders, tendons removed, cut into small pieces
• ½ cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 tablespoon dried parsley

Instructions:

1. In a large pot, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the Mirepoix and garlic, sauté briefly, and then stir in the dried parsley.
2. Add chicken bone broth and bay leaves, then increase the heat to high. Once the liquid reaches a rolling boil, add the orzo, salt, and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 7-10 minutes or until the orzo is tender.
3. While the soup is simmering, prepare the chicken tenders. Remove tendons, cut into small pieces, and season with salt and pepper. Cook in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until no longer pink.
4. Once orzo is tender, stir cooked chicken into the soup.
5. For the egg-lemon sauce, whisk together lemon juice and eggs in a medium bowl. While whisking, slowly add 2 ladles of the hot broth from the cooking pot to temper the eggs (this is very important as eggs will cook in clumps if you skip this step). Once fully combined, add the sauce to the chicken soup and stir. Remove from heat immediately! Enjoy!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            adapted from The Mediterranean Dish