Classic Greek comfort soup (Print Version)
A silky, comforting Greek chicken soup made creamy without cream thanks to a special egg-lemon sauce that's whisked into hot broth for a velvety texture.
# Ingredients:
Base Ingredients
01 -
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
02 -
1/2 to 1 cup finely chopped carrots
03 -
1/2 to 1 cup finely chopped celery
04 -
1/2 to 1 cup finely chopped green onions
05 -
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
06 -
8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
07 -
2 bay leaves
08 -
1 cup rice, well rinsed
09 -
Salt and pepper, to taste
10 -
2 cooked boneless chicken breast pieces, shredded (about 6 to 8 oz; store-bought rotisserie chicken works well)
For the Avgolemono Sauce
11 -
1/2 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
12 -
2 large eggs
For Garnish
13 -
Fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
# Instructions:
01 -
In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chopped carrots, celery, and green onions. Sauté briefly, then stir in the minced garlic.
02 -
Pour in the chicken broth and add the bay leaves. Raise the heat to high and bring to a rolling boil. Once boiling, add the rice along with salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the rice is tender.
03 -
Once the rice is cooked, stir in the shredded cooked chicken.
04 -
In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and eggs until well combined. While continuously whisking with one hand, slowly add 2 ladles of hot broth from the soup pot with your other hand. This tempers the eggs and prevents them from curdling.
05 -
Slowly pour the egg-lemon mixture into the soup pot, stirring continuously. Remove from heat immediately to prevent the eggs from cooking and separating.
06 -
Garnish with fresh chopped parsley if desired. Serve hot with your favorite bread.
# Notes:
01 -
For best results with the rice, rinse it well and consider soaking it in water for about 15 minutes before cooking. You should be able to break one grain of rice easily when it's ready to use.
02 -
You can substitute 1 cup of orzo pasta for the rice. Note that orzo will cook more quickly, in about 7 minutes instead of 20.
03 -
The key to perfect avgolemono soup is properly tempering the egg-lemon sauce and removing the soup from heat immediately after adding it to prevent the eggs from cooking further.