A traditional Greek soup enjoyed any time of the year but especially at Christmas Eve dinner. Super easy to make and requires only a few ingredients. That lemon-y taste is amazing! Leave some for the next day because it’s also known to be a great hangover cure!
Greek Lemon Rice Chicken Soup (Avgolemono) | Christmas Recipes
Course: SoupsCuisine: GreekDifficulty: Medium4
servings1
hour30
minutes40
minutes300
kcal2
hours10
minutesA traditional Greek soup enjoyed any time of the year but especially at Christmas Eve dinner. Super easy to make and requires only a few ingredients. That lemon-y taste is amazing! Leave some for the next day because it’s also known to be a great hangover cure!
Ingredients
- With the Yolks & Whites:
- The Stock Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, about 3 pounds
16 cups (4 liters) cold water
1 onion
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
6 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon dried oregano, optional
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
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1-2 cups Arborio rice
1-2 cups diced carrots
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, or more
salt, to taste
8 eggs, separated
garnish: fresh dill or parsley
- For the yolk version:
Same stock ingredients
1 cup orzo or rice
8 egg yolks
1 heaping tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup lemon juice, or more
2 tablespoons olive oil
Garnish: dill or parsley
Directions
- Make the stock: Combine all of the stock ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil.
- Skim the froth that rises to the top and discard.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the chicken is cooked. About 1-1 and 1/2 hours.
- Remove the chicken and vegetables from the pot and strain the broth. Discard the garlic and peppercorns.
- Allow the chicken to cool and chop or shred as much chicken as you would like to add to the soup. Store the remaining chicken in the refrigerator to use for chicken salad or for soup for another day.
- Pour the strained stock back into the pot and add the chicken, diced carrots, and rice into the pot. Season with a 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the rice is tender. About 15 minutes.
- In the meantime, juice the lemons.
- Separate the eggs into 2 bowls. Whisk the egg whites until frothy. Add the yolks and whisk together. Add the lemon juice and whisk together.
- Add some hot soup to the lemon sauce and whisk together. Keep adding the hot soup to the lemon sauce mixture until the bowl is warm to the touch.
- Add the egg-lemon sauce to the soup and mix well.
- Warm through over low heat for 5 minutes.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Serve with toasted bread, lemon wedges and garnished with dill or parsley.
- To make the yolk only-sauce:
- Pour the strained stock into the soup pot and add chicken, diced carrots, and orzo or rice. Season with a half teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 8-10 minutes.
- Prepare the egg-lemon sauce:
- Combine the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together until smooth. Add more water if needed.
- Add the egg yolks, lemon juice, and olive oil, and whisk together until smooth.
- Add some hot soup to the egg-lemon sauce and whisk together. Keep adding hot soup until the bottom of the bowl feels warm to the touch.
- Pour the egg-lemon sauce into the pot and warm through over low heat for 5 minutes.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Garnish with dill or parsley.
- Serve with toasted bread and lemon wedges.
