Avgolemono Soup
Now that winter is coming and it likes to be dark, cool and dirty, soups are booming.
And I noticed that I haven’t actually introduced you to my favourite soup yet. We’re talking about chicken soup – it’s really very common here. Mostly when there’s some kind of aches and pains to complain about, be it physical or mental. But Avgolemono is more than chicken soup. Avgolemono means “egg” and “lemon”, so it’s chicken soup with lemon sauce.
This delicious chicken soup is prepared with rice, egg and lemon juice. Not only does it taste incredibly refreshing, it also shimmers in a soft yellow and brings sunshine to your table spoon by spoon.
Chicken soup is already a feel-good meal anyway, but with the sauce it becomes fresh and lush at the same time. And you also have a little sun on your plate.
Ingredients
1/2 chicken
1 small carrot(s)
1 small leek stick(s)
1 small piece(s) celeriac
2 litres of water, hot
1 cup rice pudding (take espresso cup to measure)
1 large lemon(s), pressed
2 egg(s)
Sea salt and pepper
Preparation
Working time: approx. 25 min.
Cooking time: approx. 1 hour.
Level of difficulty: normal
Peel the carrot and celery and chop them coarsely together with the leek. Put the vegetables with the chicken and the hot water in a saucepan and cook for 50 minutes on a medium heat.
Take out the chicken, purée the rest in the pot with a blender and add the rice. Cook until the rice is soft.
Meanwhile remove the meat from the bone, chop (cut or pluck apart) and put it back in the pot. Lower to the lowest heat and season with salt.
In a tall cup, beat the egg with a blender for 30 seconds until foamy, add the lemon juice and beat for another 30 seconds.
Take the pot off the heat and add the egg lemon juice to the soup immediately, stirring constantly.
Do not boil the soup afterwards! If necessary, heat only over a low flame, stirring constantly.
The pepper mill is placed on the table and everyone portions how peppery their soup should be.
Eat the avgolemono soup with Bread and cauliflower and/or broccoli salad, raw or steamed, it´s usually served with olive oil and lemon juice.
This is the traditional Greek “Soupa avgolemono”, which is mainly eaten in winter and with colds.
