Orzo Soup with Mediterranean Flair

Blakely Trettenero, a chef, world traveler and host of Cooking for Bimbos (www.cookingforbimbos.com) and Hungry for Travels (www.hungryfortravels.com) loves to add exotic flair to her dishes.

Trettenero, who makes difficult dishes easy on her cooking website with the tongue-in-check name, has visited more than 30 countries and made many food discoveries along the way.

“While in Italy, I realized pasta in the United States is second rate,” says Trettenero, who has been featured on several TV shows. “That dried stuff we buy in a box doesn’t cut it. If you've ever had homemade pasta, you know what I mean.”

Once, after a night of dancing in Greece, Trettenero and others worked up an appetite and at 6 a.m. landed at a restaurant that never closes on Mykonos Harbor.

“We ordered this amazing chicken soup with fresh lemon juice squeezed on it,” she says.
“It was unreal.”

Mediterranean Orzo Soup

Ingredients
• Olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced or minced
• 2 scallions, sliced thin
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 3/4 cup orzo pasta, uncooked
• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
• 1 bag (6 oz.) baby spinach
• Juice of a lemon
• Salt
• Pepper
• Parmesan

Instructions

1. In heavy-bottomed pan, heat olive oil on medium high. 
2. Add garlic and scallions. Cook for 1 minute. 
3. Add chicken stock to pot and turn on high. Let it come to boil. 
4. Add uncooked orzo, garbanzo beans, and zest of lemon. 
5. Stir and let cook on high for 10 minutes. 
6. Add cooked chicken, spinach, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. 
7. Give another quick stir and serve. 
8. Once in a bowl you can top it with shaved Parmesan, pepper, and an extra squeeze of lemon.

About Blakely Trettenero

Blakely Trettenero, host of the Cooking for Bimbos (www.cookingforbimbos.com) and Hungry for Travels (www.hungryfortravels.com) websites, is a graduate of the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Orlando, Fla. She also is a world traveler, having visited more than 30 countries, and is becoming a frequent guest on TV.


Photos by Blakely.