Recipe: Avgolemono

Good people. There is soup, and then there is Soup. I was nursing a cough and general malaise and looking for a Greek soup or side dish to go with chicken breast marinated in Greek dressing and stuffed with feta cheese and spinach, when I found this dish: avgolemono, a Greek lemon and rice soup.

Avgolemono, according to Wikipedia, can be broth, sauce or stew. This recipe that I found on Serious Eats is smooth with a tart element that complements the thickness of egg introduced to the broth. Too much description? Perhaps, which is unfair for such a simple dish. Try it when you're feeling sick or healthy and fancy or plain and it's spring or winter and you're looking for a new soup or a new avgolemono recipe. Let's just get on with it.

Ingredients
8 cups chicken stock or broth
1 cup Arborio rice (you could also use long-grain rice or orzo pasta)
4 eggs, separated
Juice of 3 lemons
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

• Bring stock to a boil and add Arborio rice. Simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Season stock to taste with salt, if necessary.
• When the Arborio rice is nearing tenderness, whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until you get medium peaks.
• Add egg yolks and lemon juice, whisking continuously.
• When the Arborio rice is finished, transfer 2 cups of the hot stock to the egg/lemon mixture, adding very slowly in a constant stream and beating vigorously to prevent the eggs from solidifying.
• Take the soup off the heat and add the beaten mixture back into the pot, whisking to incorporate.
• Serve immediately with freshly ground black pepper.

YUM!

photo credit: brad montgomery