Avgolemono | Greek Egg Lemon Soup

Avgolemono soup (αυγολέμονο με κοτόπουλο), one of the absolute favorites! I remember it like it was yesterday, the gentle bubbling of the chicken filling the house with a nice aroma. Then watching as the yellow egg and lemon mixture was poured in. The house instantly smelling of delectable lemons.

The mix of chicken, rice, egg and lemon seems to work so pleasantly, you’ll quickly ask yourself why you’ve never made this before.

I personally make this soup at least 7-8 times a year. I love this stuff. It’s kind of like the Greek’s version of chicken noodle (sans noodles) mixed with lemon and eggs.

Avgolemono sauce (Ahv-go-lemen-o) is a very popular sauce that the Greeks use on many dishes. It’s very versatile and can be made  for soups or coating for dolmathes, or thickened and graciously placed over the top of a nice cooked chicken breast or baked fish.

It has a bit of a learning curve. Just remember to add hot water to the egg/lemon mixture before adding it back in to the pot. You need to heat up the eggs so they don’t curdle!

The soup (or sauce in general) should look like this picture. Nice and creamy and deliciously smooth.

Traditionally, when I was younger, I only had it with rice. It wasn’t until later in life that I added chicken. Now, I don’t cook it without the protein.  I think it adds a nice flavor and balances well with the avgolemono sauce.

This “Egg Lemon Soup Recipe,” is best served with some nice baked bread (think french baguette). Dip it into the soup as you eat for a nice treat. The lemon broth really complements the flakiness of fresh baked bread.

As a side note, I’ve found that if you’re unable to add real lemons and have lemon juice on hand, it’s seems to do the trick.

Serve this as an appetizer or as a main course. It’s up to you!

Avgolemono Soup | Greek Egg Lemon Soup With Chicken

Yield: 5-7

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

I love this soup. It's the Greek's version of chicken noodle (kind of anyhow). It's amazing and you can make it thick and serve it over fish or chicken. καλή όρεξη (kali orexi – enjoy your meal!)

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Ingredients

• 1 to 2lbs chicken
• 6 cups (1 quart can + two smaller cans) chicken broth (or about 3 large bullion cubes)
• 3/4 cup Greek orzo (or white rice)

Sauce

• 3 eggs
• 2 lemons, juiced*
• Sea salt to taste

Instructions

1. Place skinless boneless chicken breasts in large pot and fill with broth (go about 1inch above chicken),
2. Bring to a boil.
3. Cover and reduce heat to simmer for about 30-45 min (or until chicken is cooked).
4. Once chicken in cooked, remove from water and set aside.
5. Bring broth back to boil and add orzo and cook until pasta is tender (about 10min).
6. Once chicken is cool enough, shred by hand.
7. Add chicken back into pot and reduce heat to low
8. **Avgolemono Sauce**
9. Crack eggs into a bowl and beat until frothy (a few minutes).
10. One frothy, stop and add in lemon juice.
11. Take 1 1/2 cups of hot broth and slowly pour into lemon-egg mixture, continually stirring.**
12. Pour mixture back into soup, mixing well.
13. Bring back to simmer and then remove from heat.
14. Season with Sea salt. Serve!

Notes

* For the sauce: you may need to add more for a stronger lemon flavor. Taste and adjust to fit your preference.
** This is important. Don’t forget this step or the eggs will curdle when you add to soup.