Aginares Avgolemono (Artichoke Bottoms in Avgolemono)

Submitted by Michelle Berteig

"This recipe was printed in the local newspaper and was given to me by a friend. I haven't tried it yet, but it sounds good!"

 

• Ready In: 1hr 10mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 8 artichokes
• 2⁄3 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1⁄2 cup olive oil
• 3⁄4 cup chopped onion
• 1 1⁄2 cups chopped green onions (about 2 bunches)
• 3 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered lengthwise
• 6 medium carrots, peeled and cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
• 1⁄3 cup chopped fresh dill
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon cold water

directions

1. Remove the leaves from the artichokes and scoop out the chokes, leaving the bottoms. Discard the leaves. Cut the bottoms in half. Put them in cold water with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice added. When ready to use, drain and pat dry.
2. Pour the olive oil into a 6-quart saucepan. Saute the onions until soft. Add the potatoes and carrots and cook for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the artichoke bottoms, 4 1/2 cups of hot water, the dill and salt. Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer until the potatoes, carrots and artichoke bottoms are fork-tender, about 12 to 15 minutes. Do not stir, but occasionally lift and move the pan back and forth (gentle shaking) to move the mixture around and keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan, but be careful not to break up the vegetables. Reduce the heat to a low simmer while preparing the avgolemono sauce.
4. To make the avgolemono sauce, beat the eggs well in a small bowl, then slowly add 2/3 cup of lemon juice. Add the dissolved cornstarch and then slowly add about a cup of broth from the cooked vegetables, stirring all the while.
5. Pour the sauce over the vegetables and cook on low for about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to stand 10 minutes before serving.

Reviews

[rosslare]

Excellent avgolemono (egg and lemon) sauce and the recipe seems very authentic Greek. It turned out so smooth and creamy, not watery or soupy at all. I just loved it with the artichokes and there is excellent instructions of how to prep. the chokes. Not so sure of the potatoes and carrots, though, might just do plain artichokes next time. I did use chicken stock rather than water, gives more savory in my opinion.

 

[Kumquat the Cats fr]

When I finished making this recipe, I was not sure whether it was a soup or a stew. I've made both avgolemono soups and stews, and initially I thought this was going to be soupy but it turned out more stewy. I never thought to put artichokes in avgolemono, but I must say it worked. I also liked the dill seasoning, but the instructions didn't say when to add it. I just sprinkled it on top in the end. Also, I didn't add any cornstarch at all and this still turned out sufficiently thick. That may have been because I cooked this long enough to make sure the egg was set. I reduced the olive oil to 1 tablespoon, which may also have affected the thickness. My only problem with this was the size of the vegetables. I cut them quite a bit smaller than the recipe recommends. As a result, you could cut back on the simmer time. I also cheated and used canned artichoke bottoms, which I added to the soup toward the end:) BF and I both liked this very much as is though. Looking forward to eating lefovers for lunch:)