Lemony Fish and Orzo Soup

Name: Lemony Fish and Orzo Soup
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1 medium leek, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced; 1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions, plus more for garnish; Kosher salt and black pepper; 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 3/4 cup orzo; 1 cup bottled clam juice; 2 large eggs; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 1 1/2 pounds skinless black sea bass or cod fillets, cut into 2-inch pieces; 1 tablespoon peeled, grated ginger; Crusty bread, for serving

By Kay Chun

Updated March 10, 2023

Lemony Fish and Orzo Soup — Joel Goldberg for The New York Times

Total Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 4(835)
Comments: Read comments

This warming, weeknight one-pot meal is inspired by avgolemono, the Greek lemony chicken soup that’s rendered silky from egg whisked into its broth. Here, the technique of adding an egg mixture at the end creates a creamy soup that remains light in body. Mild, flaky fish, such as sea bass or cod, pairs beautifully with the buttery leek-and-garlic broth, which is fortified with clam juice for extra briny flavor. Orzo adds texture, while a final addition of freshly grated ginger brightens the soup. For a thicker, stew-like meal, make the soup an hour ahead and let it rest at room temperature (it will thicken as it sits); gently reheat before serving.

or to save this recipe.
Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
Subscribe
Share
Print Options
Include recipe photo

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

3tablespoons unsalted butter
1medium leek, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
½cup thinly sliced scallions, plus more for garnish
Kosher salt and black pepper
3garlic cloves, thinly sliced
¾cup orzo
1cup bottled clam juice
2large eggs
2tablespoons lemon juice
1½pounds skinless black sea bass or cod fillets, cut into 2-inch pieces
1tablespoon peeled, grated ginger
Crusty bread, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Preparation

Step 1
In a large Dutch oven, melt butter over medium. Add leeks and scallions, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, 1 minute.
Step 2
Add the orzo, clam juice and 5 cups of water; mix well. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until orzo is just al dente, 6 to 7 minutes.
Step 3
Uncover and reduce heat to low. In a medium bowl, beat eggs with lemon juice until well blended. While whisking constantly, slowly drizzle ½ cup of the hot broth into the eggs until well blended. (It’s OK if some leeks and orzo fall in.) Repeat 2 more times.
Step 4
While whisking the soup in the pot, slowly drizzle in the tempered egg mixture until well incorporated. Add the fish and poach over low heat. (The soup should be at a bare simmer, as boiling will cause the egg mixture to break and curdle.) Cook, stirring frequently, until broth is slightly thickened and fish is opaque throughout, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in ginger and season with salt and pepper.
Step 5
Divide the soup among bowls, garnish with additional scallions and serve with bread.

Ratings

4 out of 5

835 user ratings

Have you cooked this?

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Comments

Shira K2 years ago

Great recipe - love the twist on avgolemono, and this was an easy one pot wonder! For those who don’t eat clam/don’t have access to clam juice, you can substitute 1c veggie broth 1.5-2tsp fish sauce. We also added lemon zest and some extra lemon juice for some additional brightness.

Jim2 years ago

This recipe is very close to a Greek fisherman's soup that I make all the time. It's always tempting to add more pasta (orzo) but keep in mind that if you do, there will be no broth left the next day and it will be more like a stew as the pasta sucks up all the broth. If you don't like ginger you can omit it and the only thing I would change in the recipe is to use olive oil instead of butter and toss in two small cans of clams instead of just using the juice. Thanks for posting this recipe!

Katerina2 years ago

The avgolemono bit, so adding the tempered egg mixture, normally comes at the end of the recipe. I would add and cook the fish first and then follow the technique described with the egg mixture, off heat and then bring back to almost simmer before serving. At least this is the way avgolemono works in chicken soup and other Greek meat dishes (lamb).

L Wylie1 month ago

Tasty! Perfect way to use up trimmings from cutting up a whole halibut and making stock Admittedly I improvised using the homemade fish stock in place of clam broth and water, green garlic in place of the leek and garlic (cuz I had one from my CSA). Otherwise kept proportions the same.

Andrea2 months ago

Very tasty! I subbed barley for orzo and Dover sole fillets as they were cheaper at the fishmonger. Since these fillets are much thinner than cod, I followed the recipe and did not cook them beforehand. I also added more lemon and broth: 4 lemons and 6 cups of broth. I also added an egg (3 total) because I added more broth. I should have upped the barley content after increasing the broth: the stew was very light and not as filling as it could have been. Incredible flavors though, and a lighter soup is what I was looking for when I made the recipe.

Roberta3 months ago

Agree with other reviewer, Katalina, fish should be cooked before egg mixture goes in. Just saying…

Private comments are only visible to you.