food pr0n

About once a month, oftentimes more, I make avgolémono soup. It doesn’t matter how warm or cold it is outside–this soup always hits the spot. It impresses guests and soothes a raw spirit with its comforting scent and thick, creamy texture.

Avgolémono is a Greek egg-lemon chicken sauce or soup, and there are as many variations on the recipe as there are seeds in a lemon. I like to call mine the poor man’s egg-lemon soup as it has just a handful of simple ingredients…but is full of protein, happy carbs, and vitamin C.

I became obsessed with this soup in high school. I used to snack at a hole-in-the-wall Greek restaurant in Indianapolis in between class and rehearsal, and I nearly always ordered their avgolémono. After I moved away, I rotated on the idea of replicating their soup (or at least the memory thereof), though having eaten at the restaurant recently, I think mine is better.

Some Greek restaurants use rice in their egg-lemon soup, but I prefer orzo pasta or other small shapes. This time I used a mixture of tiny stars and lemon pepper, chive, and parsley orzo I bought at the Pike Place Market from Pappardelle’s Pasta. Here is my recipe:

8 cups or so chicken stock (I get lazy here and use two 16 oz. boxes of Pacific brand organic broth)
2-4 chicken breasts or thighs, deboned with skin removed
2 large eggs
2 large lemons
½ cup orzo pasta
fresh parsley if you have it

Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a large pot, adding chopped pieces of chicken as it heats. When the broth has boiled, turn down the heat a little and add the orzo carefully as it makes the broth go a little frothy sometimes. Boil orzo until tender and chicken bits are cooked. Meanwhile, juice lemons into a small bowl, and strain out renegade seeds. Crack the eggs into another small bowl and beat until very well mixed. Pour lemon juice into the egg and combine thoroughly with a fork.

Next comes the fun part of tempering your egg. Remove the large pot from the heat and let cool for a minute. Slowly pour some of the hot chicken broth into the egg-lemon mixture, stirring constantly. Then add the egg-lemon mixture gently into the broth in the pot. Keep stirring–sometimes I need an extra pair of hands here to keep the broth moving so the egg doesn’t overcook and curdle. If you do find long white strands of egg in your pot, that’s ok–you can either fish them out with a slotted spoon or eat them anyway (I don’t think they look very pretty, however).

Heat soup carefully on low until it thickens, and then serve in bowls with a sprinkle of parsley if you have it, and some sort of bread. Remember again how much life kicks ass.