BROTH - Stick cloves into whole peeled onion. To a large stock pot, add whole chicken, lemon peel, onion, carrot, celery, peppercorns and bay leaves. Cover with water 1 inch above chicken. Cover and bring to a boil. Uncover, lower heat and simmer for one hour or until chicken is soft.
Remove chicken and place in a large bowl. Remove skin and shred meat. Not all meat will be used in the soup.
Drain stock and press gently on solids to get remaining juices. Yield is 12 cups.
Cook orzo in a pot of boiling water. Drain and rinse with cold water if not using right away.
SOUP - To the now empty large stock pot, add butter and olive oil. Add onion, celery, carrot, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, thyme and oregano. Sauté until soft. Add flour, stir and cook for a minute until raw flavor disappears. Add a few cups of stock and mix well. Add remaining stock, ½ cup lemon juice, salt to taste, ground black pepper to taste and bring to a boil. Taste and add more lemon juice, salt and pepper if needed. Add shredded chicken (2 to 3 cups) and cooked orzo. Stir and simmer for 2 minutes. Add parsley and dill. Ladle into serving bowls and drizzle olive oil on top, add a little grated lemon zest and more black pepper.
*** You can adjust the amount of stock used in this recipe, use less for fewer servings and reduce the amount of chicken and orzo.
*** If you don’t plan on serving the entire pot of soup, do not add orzo to soup pot. Add orzo to individual serving bowl and pour soup on top. Orzo will absorb too much liquid if left in the soup pot.