Soupa Avgolemono (Egg-Lemon Soup)

"This tasty soup is very popular in Greece and Cyprus. I remember my father making it on chilly winter days, especially when there were colds and flu in the household! Sometimes he would add chopped, cooked chicken to the soup, and other times he would serve it plain. This is a taste of my childhood."
 
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photo by Ivansocal photo by Ivansocal
photo by Ivansocal
photo by Ivansocal photo by Ivansocal
photo by Ivansocal photo by Ivansocal
photo by truebrit photo by truebrit
Ready In:
25mins
Ingredients:
4
Serves:
6
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ingredients

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directions

  • Bring broth to boil in saucepan, and add rice or orzo.
  • Cover and cook on medium low heat for 20-25 minutes (rice) or 10 minutes (orzo).
  • While the rice cooks, lightly beat the eggs and the lemon juice together.
  • Remove the broth from heat.
  • Slowly mix about one cup of the hot broth into egg-lemon mixture.
  • Add to the soup gradually while stirring.
  • Place saucepan back on the heat, and stir until soup is heated through (DO NOT BOIL).
  • Serve.

Questions & Replies

  1. Can you use lemon juice from the bottle instead of a lemon?
     
  2. Why 6 cups of broth when the recipe calls for mixing 3 eggs and lemon with one cup of broth. What am I missing?
     
  3. Can u use bottled lemon juice
     
  4. Can it be made in advance?
     
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Reviews

  1. This recipe was perfect. The others have too much stuff in them. This is exactly how my greek friends make it!
     
  2. This recipe is so simple yet so good! I just had two big bowls of it for lunch and it turned out great. :) One thing I've learned from experience is when reheating, keep the heat on LOW, gently warming the soup - otherwise the egg in the broth may burn or stick to the bottom of the pot. Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipe.
     
  3. We really enjoyed this! I halved the recipe, but found I needed to top up the stock a little after boiling the rice for 20 minutes. I topped up with chicken stock but, I think, next time, I'll top up with water as it ended up just a little salty. I used two small eggs and, I think next time, I might add a couple of teaspoons of cornflour just to thicken it a little more. The juice of one fairly large lemon was exactly right for my half quantity. I'd use the juice of 2 lemons if making the full amount. The only other change I made was to add a good shake of dried dill and a sprinkling of black pepper. I've read other recipes on Zaar which add milk and butter to this soup. Personally, I think this simple version is rich enough without those unnecessary additions. I served it with freshly made French baguette smothered with butter. The saltiness of the butter balanced the tartness of the soup particularly well.
     
  4. this is a very well represented traditional avgolemono. Simple, delicious, timeless.
     
  5. Great directions, very easy to make and delicious! Will definitely make again. UPDATE: I just made this recipe for the second time. This time I used 4 eggs and the juice of 2 lemons, and I find it that I prefer it much better this way, it is more creamy and lemony. I also added some finely chopped carrots and cooked chicken. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
     
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Tweaks

  1. My Yiayia used to beat the egg whites separately until they were frothy, and use the same gradual method of adding them into the soup, so there was a creamy froth at the top. Very tricky to master but definitely adds a touch of gourmet!
     
  2. I will add some shredded leftover chicken if I have any.
     
  3. Simple. Good. My lemon was small- next time I'll use two and i used pearl barley instead of the rice or orzo. Was tasty!
     

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