Avgolemono -- Egg-Lemon Soup (Greece)

Submitted by Sydney Mike

"This recipe comes from the 2005 cookbook, The Best Recipes in the World."

 

• Ready In: 35mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 5 cups vegetable stock
• 1⁄2 cup long-grain rice (or orzo)
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced
• 1 celery rib, minced
• 1 dash salt, to taste
• 1 dash pepper, to taste
• 1 cup tomatoes, seeded, chopped (optional)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest, minced
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (more or less)

directions

1. Put the stock in a large, deep saucepan & turn heat to medium-high, then just barely bring it to slight boil, before turning the heat down to medium, so that it bubbles a bit.
2. Stir in the rice, carrot & celery & cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are all tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Season with salt & pepper & then, if you're using it, add the tomato before turning the heat down to low.
4. In a small bowl, use a whisk to beat the eggs with the lemon zest & juice, & then, STILL BEATING, slowly add 1/2 cup of the hot stock to the egg mixture. Continue beating while adding another cup of the stock.
5. Pour this mixture back into the soup & reheat, BUT UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ALLOW THE MIXTURE TO BOIL OR THE EGGS WILL SCRAMBLE!
6. Taste & add salt, pepper or lemon juice as necessary, before serving.

Reviews

[jpvasilakos]

Very good, simple to make, but double the recipe if you want leftovers (and I do).

 

[Hot Pepper]

I love this soup. It's great on a cold night (like tonight). We both enjoyed it!

 

[breezermom]

This was very thick and creamy, but I'm afraid that maybe I'm just not fond of lemon in soup. But it did look very nice and I did keep the heat low, so my eggs didn't scramble. I was a little worried that the egg really didn't have a chance to cook....I've had some unpleasant experiences with raw eggs, and didn't want to experience the unpleasantness again! But I resisted the urge to overheat, and my soup remained "unscrambled" and very smooth in texture.

 

[Nif_H]

Delish! I really liked this and it was easy to make and healthy, which is a bonus! I didn't use the tomato and I didn't miss it. I did let it get a little hot and the egg got a little scrambled, but I still loved the flavour. I also halved the recipe. The lemon flavour is awesome! Made for Gimme 5. Thanks Sydney Mike! :)

 

[littlemafia]

OMG! This is the recipe that makes me so grateful for finding this site! I follow it as written except for the tomatoes, which I didn't use. Because I was going to give some to my 9 month old too ,I left it a little longer on the lowest and it still didn't curdle. So creamy ( i like thick soups).Between me and the little one, half is gone already. My husband is away now,but was drooling over the phone - he loves this soup. Thank you so much and I'll be making this a lot!