White Bean Orzo Soup w/ Lemon & Ginger!

I have written in prior posts that I eat soup for lunch at least three days a week.  It is easy to prepare and you can make a large batch in one pot, which therefore turns into a lot of individual lunch servings for your freezer.  White bean and orzo soup is one of my favorites, but I wanted to freshen up the flavor a bit.  I decided to add lemon and ginger, which added an extra brightness and freshness to the recipe during these dull winter months.  What I love most about this soup, is that it is super easy and very quick to make.  It only needs about an hour to cook.  Enjoy!

White Bean Orzo Soup with Lemon & Ginger

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 ½ cups white beans, drained and rinsed
• ½ cup red onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1½ tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• 2 tablespoons parsley plus extra for the end
• 6-8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 bag of frozen spinach
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• ½ teaspoon red pepper
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• ½ cup whole-wheat orzo
• extra virgin olive oil 

 

PROCESS:

1. Drizzle olive oil in a medium to large soup pot -- bring the heat up to high. Add onion, garlic, and ginger. Sauté until translucent.
2. Drain and rinse cannelloni beans.
3. Add beans, frozen spinach (straight from the freezer) and chicken broth.
4. Add all the herbs and red pepper flakes -- reserving some parsley for the end.
5. Stir and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat all the way down to the lowest setting and simmer for 1 hour.
6. At approximately 1 hour add orzo, lemon zest, and lemon juice – continue cooking for 15 minutes.
7. Top with fresh parsley, cracked pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Serve warm.
8. Remaining soup can be frozen in individual servings in the freezer for up to 3 months to retain freshness of flavor. 

If soup becomes too thick after re-heating add extra broth.