This Orzo soup with shredded turkey and spinach is a flavorful and comforting dish that is perfect for any time. Plus it's budget friendly because you use leftover turkey or chicken from the day before.
2cupsshredded roasted turkey (or chicken)any amount of leftovers will do, don't stress if you don't have exactly 2 cups
4cupschicken stock
2tomatoes
1cupdiced carrots
3bay leaves
1tbsporegano
1tsppaprika
1tbspsalt
1.5cupsorzo
1red pepper (small)
1yellow pepper (small)you can replace the 2 small peppers with a bell pepper
1yellow onion
2tbspsolive oilextra virgin
2-3cups spinach
1lemonhalf will be juiced and added to the soup and the other half sliced for garnish
2cupswater
pinchblack pepper (optional) for garnish
Instructions
Cut tomatoes in large chunks and blend them in a small food processor.
Wash spinach (if it doesn't come already washed), peppers and tomatoes. Dice carrots, onion and peppers. (I used carrot sticks for this recipe but you can use whole carrots too).
Heat a large pot with olive oil. Add onions and peppers and sautee until onion becomes transluscent.
Add orzo to the pot, stir everything well so veggies don't stick to the bottom of the pot. Also, you want all the orzos to get coated and become kind of shiny.
Add carrots and mix well again.
Add tomato blend and mix so you can create a homogeneous mix.
Add shredded turkey and mix to incorporate all the ingredients together.
Add bay leaves and oregano, paprika and salt and stir again to combine everything.
Add chicken stock to the soup and 2 cups of water. Mix and set temperature to medium. Cover with a lid. Make sure the pot is not too small or it will overflow as the soup cooks.
After 20 minutes or so, remover lid. Fish for the bay leaves and remove them from the pot. Add lemon juice from half the lemon.
Add spinach to the soup in the final moments. Chop spinach if leaves are too big. No need to chop baby spinach. Let it cook for 1-2 minutes until spinach welts.
Serve warm and enjoy:). Garnish with lemon slices and black pepper in individual plates is optional.
Video
Notes
You can use shredded chicken or turkey.
Buying triple-washed spinach can save some time, but that might not be available everywhere. My grocery store offers it and it is something I splurge on to save myself time.