Serves 8 Serves 8
Avgolemono is a classic Greek soup, made with chicken broth, lemon, egg, and rice. When made well, you should be able to taste all of the ingredients—the chicken flavor of the broth, the acidity of the lemon, the richness of the egg, and the starch of the rice—in every spoonful. It’s another one of those soups that knows countless variations, some using chopped chicken, some using one type of rice, some another, and so on. But in any version, I’m counting on you to do some careful tasting because there’s a fine line between bright and lemony and too damn tart. Add the lemon juice in small increments until you achieve the perfect balance. (The strength of flavor will depend on the individual lemons and how fresh they are.)
Since eggs don’t react well when reheated, this is a rare exception to the make-ahead convenience of soup—cook this one to order. This is another recipe that would benefit tremendously from the use of homemade stock.
2 quarts homemade Chicken Stock or store-bought, reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 cups long-grain rice
3 large eggs, at room temperature
Juice of 4 large lemons
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Bring the stock to a simmer in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the rice and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer until the rice is just cooked, about 30 minutes.
2. In a large stainless-steel or ceramic bowl, whisk together the eggs and about two thirds of the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Slowly drizzle a cup or 2 of the simmering stock into the bowl with the lemon-egg mixture, whisking to keep the eggs from cooking. Slowly pour this mixture into the pot of simmering stock, whisking until the liquid returns to the simmer. Keep cooking and whisking over medium-low heat until the soup thickens, about 5 minutes. Taste and add more lemon juice as needed.
4. To serve, ladle some soup into each of 8 bowls.
VARIATIONS
Lemon, Egg Drop, and Chicken Soup
If you have some leftover roasted chicken, shred the meat and add 1 to 2 cups of it to the soup in the final 2 minutes of cooking for a more substantial dish.
Lemon, Egg Drop, and Crabmeat Soup
If you want to make a more elegant dish, purchase some crabmeat, pick through it for shell fragments, place a tablespoon or two in the bottom of each bowl, and ladle the hot soup over it. The crabmeat will be warm by the time the soup is served.
Lemon, Egg Drop, and Spinach Soup
Rinse 1 bunch (about 10 ounces) spinach in several changes of cold water. Cut off and discard the stalks, dry the leaves in a salad spinner or with paper towels, and coarsely chop them. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a sauté pan set over medium-high heat. Add 1 clove minced garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the spinach, season with salt and pepper, and cook until nicely wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir the spinach into the finished soup just before serving. If preparing the spinach in advance, spread out the cooked spinach on a baking sheet to allow it to cool quickly and prevent it from overcooking and losing its beautiful color.