Avgolemono Greek Chicken and Lemon Soup

 

I had an eat-week last week.  Do you know about eat-weeks?  They usually start with not grocery shopping and end with a steak and cheese sandwich in front of a football game.  In the middle is pizza delivery because your leftovers didn't stretch as far as you thought they would and trying out a new diner for lunch.  Also, Halloween.

After an eat-week I like to reset.  Soup is a great reset button.   Soup like this, which is creamy without adding cream, has lean protein, and is bright and flavorful is a great way to transition from a french-fry-laden week without feeling like you are depriving yourself.  And it's also just really good so regardless of how your week went last week, you should make this.


Avgolemono is a Greek chicken soup that is flavored with lemon and thickened with eggs.  It tastes super creamy without a drop of cream and the lemon is bright and sunny.  It's very simple to make and perfect for these first few chilly days.

Let's get started!  Assemble your ingredients.  Clean, simple ingredients here: homemade stock, a little olive oil, roasted chicken, onion, garlic, lemon, eggs and orzo.  You'll need some salt and pepper too.

Add olive oil to a heavy bottomed pot and add chopped onion.  Let those onions sweat for a couple of minutes until translucent, then add the garlic and let it cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.

Add 4 cups of chicken stock slowly, scraping the bottom of the pan as you pour.

Bring that to a simmer and season with salt and pepper.  Meanwhile, whisk together 3 eggs and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice.

Set that aside.  Next, add your orzo.

And your chicken.  Two cups.

Let that cook for about 9 minutes.

Now, back to the egg mixture.  Temper the egg mixture by adding small amounts of the hot liquid, slowly bringing the egg mixture temperature up without scrambling the egg.  Continue this until a cup of hot liquid has been added.  Then, add the egg mixture to the pot, stirring constantly.

The egg mixture should thicken the soup and add flavor with the lemon juice.  Let that simmer for 10 more minutes, then serve.

Remember that nut-free basil pesto?  Add a teaspoon of that on top.  It's delicious with this soup.  Add some crusty bread on the side and a lemon wedge too!

This is tangy and creamy and full of chicken flavor.  It's a fun detour from chicken soup but still retains that classic flavor.

It's a delicious way to enjoy soup night and an even better way to reset after the week I just had.  An eat-week.  We all go there from time to time, no?

Here's the recipe.

Avgolemono {Greek Chicken and Lemon Soup} adapted from Dinner: A Love Story

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken
• 1/4 cup uncooked orzo
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 large eggs
• salt and pepper

Method

1. Heat olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pot.  Add diced onion and let cook for 5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.  Add chicken stock and scrape the bottom of the pot as you pour.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together eggs and lemon juice.  Set aside.  
3. Add orzo and chicken to simmering broth and cook for 9 minutes or so.  Temper the egg mixture by adding hot liquid to the eggs very, very slowly, whisking constantly.  Continue doing this until the bowl is warm to the touch and you've added about 1 cup of hot liquid.  Add the egg mixture back to the pot, stirring constantly.  
4. Let cook for about 10 more minutes.  Serve with a teaspoon of pesto and some crunchy bread.