Chicken, Mushroom and Orzo Soup

Directions

1. 1

   Place a dutch oven on medium heat. Add the butter followed by the onion and a generous pinch of salt. Let this saute with the lid on until soft and almost golden.

2. 2

   Add the garlic and saute for 3 minutes before stirring in the herbs and letting these cook a little.

3. 3

   Stir in the mushrooms and once they have started to wilt down and release moisture, add the flour making sure everything has combined.

4. 4

   Stir in the chicken stock followed by the cider vinegar (and sherry if using). Season with salt and pepper, return the lid and bring to a boil.

5. 5

   When simmering, stir in the orzo (keep stirring every so often so the orzo doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan). Add the chicken and check the seasoning!

6. 6

   Once the orzo has just cooked through, remove the soup from the heat and let it cool slightly. Either add the creme fraiche straight into the soup (if its room temperature and the soup isn’t hot) or temper it by adding a little bit of soup to the creme fraiche to warm it up before adding all of it to the soup. This is to prevent it from curdling.

7. 7

   Serve with lots of parmesan, black pepper and olive oil.