Avgolemono soup is a Greek soup made from chicken broth, rice or barley, egg, and lemon juice. It can be served hot or cold and can be easily made at home. The base is chicken broth, and variations include adding dill or chicken.
Avgolemono soup is a traditional Greek soup made from chicken broth, rice or barley, egg and lemon juice. Well made, it has a rich citrus flavor and an almost creamy texture from the roes. The soup can be served hot or cold, as a small appetizer or as a large bowl of warm, comforting soup on a cold day. Many Greek restaurants offer avgolemono soup and it can also be easily made at home. Home cooks can also adjust ingredients for twists on the base recipe.
The base of avgolemono soup is chicken broth and it pays to use a high quality broth. You can make chicken stock at home if you happen to have part of a roast chicken lying around, or you can buy it at the store. Look for a chicken broth made with vegetables if you can, as it will have a fuller flavor; if you’re cooking for vegetarians, use a rich vegetable broth, and try to find a low-salt broth if possible, which will allow the natural chicken and lemon flavors in the soup to pass through.
If you plan to use small noodles like orzo in your soup, cook and drain them while you’re heating the broth, so they’re ready to mix. You can also cook the rice in the same pot you’ll use for the stock. Avgolemono soup is an easy affair to make. Cook one-half cup of rice for every six cups of stock you plan to use, and pour the stock over the cooked rice to warm it.
While the broth is coming up to temperature, whisk two eggs together and pour in a small amount of the hot broth, beating it together with the eggs to prevent curdling. Then, add the egg mixture back into the broth and the rice mixture, along with the juice of two lemons and salt and pepper to taste. Serve the avgolemono soup immediately, with side dishes of your choice.
Some common variations on avgolemono soup add crumbled dill or pieces of chicken. You can also create a sauce with avgolemono by mixing chicken broth, lemon and egg but without rice and allowing the mixture to thicken with the help of cornstarch. The sauce can be poured over braised vegetables, pasta and grains for extra flavor. This soup is quick and fairly easy to prepare, making it a good addition to the repertoire of busy cooks. You can also interest young diners in avgolemono soup by using small pasta shapes like miniature bow ties or alphabet pasta.
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