Nothing makes me feel warm inside and out like a hot bowl of avgolemono soup. The Greeks’ version of chicken soup, avgolemono is made from chicken broth, eggs, and fresh-squeezed lemon juice. The eggs are separated and the whites are beaten until light and foamy. Then the yolks and lemon juice are whisked in and the entire mixture is slowly incorporated into a rich broth. This creates a thick and silky texture (the best way to describe it is “liquid velvet”) and makes for an unforgettably savory soup. • serves 6
Remove the skin from the chicken. Place the remaining chicken and the onion in a medium pot and add just enough water to barely cover the bird. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt and bring to a boil. Boil the bird until it is cooked through, about an hour, skimming off any froth that appears on top of the broth every 10 minutes with a mesh spoon and discarding it.
Preheat the oven to broil.
Remove the chicken from the broth and place in an oven-proof pan, breast facing up. Use a slotted spoon to take out the onion and place around the chicken in the pan. Set aside the pot with the broth.
In a small bowl, mix together the juice from 1 of the lemons, the olive oil, 1 teaspoon of the oregano, 1 teaspoon of the salt, ½ teaspoon of the black pepper. Drizzle over the chicken and the onion. Place the pan in the oven and broil the chicken for 15 minutes, until it is lightly golden on top.
Meanwhile, add 2 cups of water and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt to the broth in the pot and bring back to a boil. Add the orzo or rice and cook until cooked all the way through, 10 minutes for orzo and 15 minutes for rice. Remove the pot from the heat and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites at high speed until a foam forms on top. Whisk in the egg yolks and the juice from the remaining two lemons until fully incorporated.
Make sure the broth has sat at room temperature off the heat source for about 10 minutes before this next step. Slowly ladle hot broth into the lemon-egg mixture, whisking all the while. Continue adding the broth until 2 cups of the broth have been incorporated into the lemon-egg mixture. The broth should be slightly thick and frothy at this point. Whisk the lemon-egg mixture into the large pot of broth until fully mixed. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oregano and ½ teaspoon black pepper, taste, and add more salt and pepper if you’d like. Serve warm with the broiled chicken on the side.