When life gives you lemons, make Avgolemono Soup!
Avgolemono Soup is the most famous of all the Greek soups. Every time I wasn’t feeling well when I was younger my yiayia would make me a giant pot. Luckily, now my husband knows how to make it and will make it for me when I’m feeling less than 100 percent.
I love making this soup for my Los Angeles personal chef clients. It’s so hearty and satisfying. It’s probably one of my most favorite Greek recipes to make next to Spanakopita.
You can make Avgolemono Soup in a number of different ways, and every family has their signature recipe. Most know it as a chicken soup with a beautiful egg-lemon sauce folded into it. Avgolemono is the Greek word for the egg-lemon sauce. Some recipes include chicken in the actual soup, some don’t. Just like some recipes include vegetables like carrots, celery and onion, and a starch like orzo pasta or rice. I love the Agrozimi Spelt Orzo available from Zelos Authentic Greek Artisan. Like I said, it’s up to you to make it to your taste. There is no right or wrong way. It’s fun to experiment with all the options too!
Try this easy recipe
This recipe is hearty and packed with protein. I love using succulent chicken thighs instead of traditional shredded chicken breasts, which tend to dry out and get chewy in the soup. If you’re playing the long game, you can start by making your chicken broth from scratch, slowly simmering a whole chicken with aromatics for hours, and using the chicken from that in the soup; then adding the avgolemono sauce like I do here. This is how my yiayia used to do it and the payoff is worth it.
Working with the avgolemono sauce
The most important aspect of making the soup is not curdling the avgolemono sauce when you add it back into the soup. Achieve this by slowly tempering your broth into the blender with your eggs and lemon. Then take your soup off the heat, give it a few stirs to bring down the temperature and fold the sauce in while you’re rapidly stirring.
This recipe calls for flour in the avgolemono sauce. This helps thicken the sauce/soup. You don’t need to use it or you can substitute some corn starch whisked in a bit of water for it.
Add more lemon to taste. I also like my avgolemono with a lot of cracked black pepper and some chopped fresh dill.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cubed
- 2 quarts chicken broth
- 5 eggs
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper (more for garnish)
- 1/2 cup rice (long or short grain) or orzo
- 1 tablespoon flour
Instructions
- Season chicken with 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper
- In a large pot over medium high heat, brown chicken in olive oil for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in rice and chicken broth.
- Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat to low/simmer and let the soup simmer for 20 minutes.
- While soup is simmering, blend eggs in a blender or with a hand mixer (or whisk by hand) until they are light and frothy.
- While the blender is still running, add in the lemon juice and flour. Then temper in the egg mixture by slowly adding 1 cup of the hot broth to the blender.
- Take the soup off the heat, and slowly fold in the egg-lemon sauce. Adjust seasonings (salt, pepper, lemon) to your taste and serve.
Notes
The most important aspect of making the soup is not curdling the avgolemono sauce when you add it back into the soup. Achieve this by slowly tempering your broth into the blender with your eggs and lemon. Then take your soup off the heat, give it a few stirs to bring down the temperature and fold the sauce in while you're rapidly stirring.
This recipe calls for flour in the avgolemono sauce. This helps thicken the sauce/soup. You don't need to use it or you can substitute some corn starch whisked in a bit of water for it.
Nutrition Facts
Avgolemono Soup - Greek Egg Lemon Chicken Soup with Rice Recipe
Serves: 4 servings
|
Amount Per Serving: 1 Bowl
|
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|---|---|---|
| Calories | 560.69 kcal | |
| % Daily Value* | ||
| Total Fat 18.16 g | 27.9% | |
| Saturated Fat 5.16 g | 25.8% | |
| Trans Fat 0.05 g | ||
| Cholesterol 374.24 mg | 124.7% | |
| Sodium 1772.31 mg | 73.8% | |
| Total Carbohydrate 41.19 g | 13.7% | |
| Dietary Fiber 0.51 g | 2% | |
| Sugars 8.57 g | ||
| Protein 54.36 g | ||
| Vitamin A 11.46 % | Vitamin C 14.18 % | |
| Calcium 6.77 % | Iron 20.65 % | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Sweet Greek Personal Chef and Culinary Services Los Angeles, CA