Cait and I love soup especially in the winter. The warm liquid tastes so good during the cold New England months. We frequent a Greek restaurant in Mystic, CT, Angie’s Pizza, specifically for their Avgolemono (lemon and chicken) soup and a glass of white wine, which pair well together. They do an incredible job creating this authentic Greek favorite!
Since meeting Cait, I have tried to duplicate a lot of her favorite meals. Though I consider myself a good cook, I DO NOT like complex recipes. Fortunately, the instructions and ingredients for Avgolemono Soup are quite simple. Cait loves the lemon taste so I add more lemon juice just for her. She jokingly comments every time, “how do you make this taste so lemony?”
This is how you make delicious, lemon chicken soup….
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ to 2 lbs. of chicken breast, diced into small cubes
- ½ cup orzo or rice
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 4-5 eggs (depending on desired thickness of the soup)
- 6 cups (48 ounces) of chicken broth
- 4 Tbsp. olive oil
- 6-8 Tbsp. lemon juice (add more for additional lemon flavor)
- Salt
- Fresh parsley or parsley flakes (optional)
- Sliced lemon (optional)
Directions:
- Sauté the Onions: Heat the olive oil in a large pot on medium-high. Add the onions and cook until they soften, 5-6 minutes.
- Cook Orzo (or Rice): While the onions are cooking, fill a pot with 6 cups of salted water and bring to a boil. Add the orzo, return to a boil and cook for 8-10 minutes until almost done. Drain the orzo and add to the broth.
- Add Chicken Broth to Onions: While the Orzo is cooking add the chicken stock to the onions and bring to a simmer.
- Add Diced Chicken: Place the diced chicken into the stock and let cook for 7-9 minutes.
- Temper the Eggs: Beat the eggs in a bowl and continue to whisk while adding the lemon juice. The egg mixture will need to be tempered before adding to the broth or it will instantly cook into chunks. To temper, quickly whisk the egg mixture with one hand, while very slowly pouring in one ladle full of the hot broth with the other. Repeat one to two times.
- Adding the Egg Mixture to the Soup: Turn off the heat for the soup then whisk the soup with one hand while you very slowly pour the egg mixture into the pot.
Serve immediately and garnish with parsley and a slice of lemon.
Enjoy!
