Veggie Orzo Chicken Broth
Serves 5
3 cloves of garlic thinly sliced
1 white onion thinly sliced
1 thumb of ginger grated
1 leek thinly sliced
A punnet of white mushrooms thinly sliced
A punnet of chanterray carrots (I used purple ones) halved lengthways
2 sticks of celery chopped thinly
1 bag of chopped cavolo Nero/spinach
250g Orzo rice
1 rotisserie chicken shredded
Bunch of parsley chopped
4 spring onions thinly sliced
Black pepper and salt
Put the garlic, ginger and onion in a large sauce pan and cook for 4 minutes till fragrant and soft. Add the mushrooms and the leek and cook again for 3-4 mins. Then add your stock, carrots, celery, parsley stalks, lots of ground pepper and a tsp of kosher salt to the pan and simmer for 20 mins. Now shred your chicken with two forks and keep in a separate bowl. Just before veggie broth cooking time is finished, cook your orzo in a separate pan till al dente (I do it separately so I can freeze whatever veggie broth I don’t eat). Add the cavolo nero and spring onions to the broth, and simmer for another 5 mins.
I taste it now before serving, and often find a tbs of bouillon can make the world of difference here, but this is entirely up to you. .
To serve, place three tbs of orzo at the bottom of the bowl, followed by a generous ladle of veggie broth and a handful of shredded chicken. Top with ground black pepper, and the chopped parsley. Chilli flakes are good too!