Lamb and Orzo Soup
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A few weeks ago I cooked Leg of Lamb for the first time. I was worried about how it would turn out but it ended up being delicious. However, I guess I didn’t realize how much lamb was there and we ended up with about 4 pounds of leftovers. I knew we would eat some of it for lunch the next day but we usually don’t eat the same meal more then 2 days in a row so I had to figure how to re-purpose the remaining 2 pounds of lamb.
I had about a pound of the lamb meat in very small pieces and figured the best thing to do was make a soup out of it. I’ve actually only made one lamb soup before. It was a hearty lamb stew I made with lamb meat from our CSA. I wanted something filling but not quite so hearty.
I found a recipe for a beef and orzo soup but it had a chicken broth and I thought a beef broth would go better with lamb. I ended up adding some red wine, beef brother, and some vegetables to the soup. It smelled amazing. Then at the end I mixed in the orzo. Let me tell you…orzo really expands when it cooks!
The soup was delicious and really filling. I added a lot of meat to it plus there were vegetables and the orzo. I love any soup with pasta in it so the orzo was simply a bonus to an already great soup. It was perfect for a cold, snowy day.
Lamb and Orzo Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 12 oz. lamb meat cut into small pieces
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 oz. mushrooms sliced
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 c. dry red wine
- 4 c. beef broth
- 2 c. water
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 can 15 oz petite diced tomatoes, drained
- 3/4 c. uncooked orzo
- 3 c. spinach
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add lamb and cook for 5-7 minutes or until the outside has browned.
- Add in the oregano, onion, and mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add in the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Deglaze the pan with the red wine, scraping off the little browned bits from the bottom.
- Add in the beef broth, water, black pepper, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the orzo and cook for 8 minutes.
- Stir in the spinach and cook for 2 minutes.
Notes
