Creamy Tomato Orzo Soup

When I worked at the office in Meatpacking, there used to be this soup place I would always get for lunch at Chelsea Market called Hale and Hearty. They closed down all their locations and I was so sad because they had this incredible Creamy Tomato Orzo soup. It was amazing. This is my take on it after reading through Reddit threads, ingredient labels, a few recipes and came up with this. Let me just say it’s delicious.

Watch the video HERE. Recipe below!

INGREDIENTS:

For the Chicken:

• 1- 2 chicken breasts

• olive oil

• 2 tsp paprika

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp onion powder

• salt to taste

For the Soup:

• 1/2 cup finely chopped carrots (1-2 carrots)

• 1/2 cup finely diced celery (1 stalk)

• 1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion

• 2 cloves garlic minced

• 1tbsp butter

• 2 tbsp tomato paste

• 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes

• 2 cups filtered water

• 2 tsp chicken bouillon

• 2 tsp sugar

• salt to taste

• 1 tsp dried basil

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 1/4 tsp white pepper

• 1/4 tsp cayenne

• 1/3 cup heavy cream

• 1 cup orzo; undercooked by 1 minute

DIRECTIONS:

1. Wash and finely chop carrots, onions, celery, 2 cloves garlic and set aside.

2. Pat chicken breasts dry and season with olive oil, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and salt to taste.

3. To a soup pot, heat avocado oil over medium high heat. Once heated, sear chicken breasts on both sides until golden brown. Remove chicken breasts and set aside on a plate.

4. To the same pot, add 1 tbsp butter, and 1 tbps olive oil. Add finely chopped onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Sauté until fragrant.

5. Add in 2 tbsp tomato paste and mix around until fragrant.

6. Add in canned crushed tomatoes and mix.

7. Add in 2 cups water, 2 tsp chicken bouillon, 2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp dried oregano 1/4 white pepper, 1/4 cayenne pepper and salt to taste.

8. Add chicken breasts back into pot and simmer with lid partially covered on low heat for 30 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked through.

9. In the meantime, cook 1 cup orzo according to package. I like to undercook it by 1 minute since we will be adding it to the soup where it will continue to cook in there.

10. Remove chicken from pot and dice into cubes.

11. At this point you can use an immersion blender and blend the soup if you want a smooth consistency. You can skip this part if you like it a little chunky.

12. Add cubed chicken back into pot.

13. Swirl in 1/3 cup heavy cream and mix. Add in cooked orzo. Mix, taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

14. Serve with fresh cracked pepper.