Averie Cooks

0 To a large Dutch oven or soup pot, add the olive oil, onions, carrot, celery, and saute over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, or until beginning to soften. Stir frequently.
1 Add the garlic, salt, pepper, dried basil, and saute for 1 minute. Stir continuously. 
2 Add the orzo (or rice), shredded chicken, chicken broth (I use reduced sodium chicken broth and add more salt later but you can use regular broth), bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. 
3 Simmer over medium to medium-low heat for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until orzo is cooked al dente. Note - If you're using rice (a grain) rather than orzo (short pasta), you'll need to simmer for about 20 minutes since rice takes much longer to cook through than orzo.  
4 While the soup is simmering, in a separate medium bowl add the 3 egg yolks (you can either discard the whites, save them for scrambled egg whites, an omelette or make the white cake I linked in the blog post), the lemon juice, and whisk very well to combine.
5 Now you will temper the egg yolk mixture by removing one ladle-full of the hot broth from the soup pot, and very slowly, add it to the egg mixture, while whisking constantly and vigorously. Repeat this process with a second ladle-full of broth. Now you have tempered eggs. Tip - The reason for tempering is that if you added the egg yolks directly to the hot pot of bubbling soup, you'd scramble the eggs and end up with egg drop soup with chunky bits of eggs floating which is not the goal here and you'd have to start over. So don't skip the quick step of tempering the eggs!
6 Slowly add the tempered egg yolk mixture into the main pot of soup, while whisking the entire time. Continue to whisk until smooth and combined.
7 Turn off the heat, add the spinach, and stir to combine until it wilts.
8 Taste the soup to check for seasoning balance. Flavor Tips - If the soup tastes at all flat, boring, or like it's missing something, it likely needs more salt, so don't be afraid to add it. Because I use reduce sodium broth, I add a total of about 3 teaspoons of salt. Don't be afraid to add salt so that the soup tastes like it should which is well balanced. If you like a more lemony flavor, add extra lemon juice or a bit of lemon zest. 
9 Garnish the soup with fresh herbs including fresh dill, parsley, or as desired and serve. Extra soup will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 4-5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat gently in the microwave for about 30-60 seconds, or as desired. Note about Broth Levels - As the soup sits in the fridge, the orzo or rice will likely soak up some of the broth so if the overall broth level looks a bit low when you take your leftovers out of the fridge, that's why and it's completely normal. If desired, add additional broth when you're reheating the soup.