Avgolemono (Greek Lemon Chicken Soup)

Every culture with a grandmother in it seems to have a chicken soup that’s really a cure for something other than what’s on the label, and avgolemono is Greece’s version. Chicken broth, rice, shredded chicken, and then the part that makes it special: a whisked mixture of egg and lemon, tempered in slowly at the end until the soup turns pale, silky, and faintly tart.

It’s not a Portuguese dish, but it sits in interesting conversation with my own Canja de Galinha (recipe on the site), our chicken soup, which leans on mint and lemon in its own gentler way. Make them back to back sometime if you want a small lesson in how two Mediterranean countries solve the same problem, sick kid, cold night, empty fridge but a chicken carcass, in completely different directions.

The technique here is the whole game. Egg and hot broth do not want to be friends unless you introduce them slowly, and I’ve scrambled more than one pot of avgolemono learning that lesson before I finally got it into my hands the way my mother-in-law, who’s Greek by way of Astoria, showed me over the phone one very patient evening.

Avgolemono Recipe

Prep time: 10 minutes · Cook time: 25 minutes · Total: 35 minutes · Servings: 6 · Calories: ~230 per serving

Ingredients

• 8 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken)
• 2/3 cup long-grain rice (or orzo)
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

1. Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a large pot. If using raw chicken breasts, add them now and simmer 15 to 18 minutes, until cooked through; remove, shred with two forks, and set aside. If using pre-cooked chicken, skip ahead.
2. Add the rice (or orzo) to the simmering stock and cook 15 to 18 minutes, until tender. If you removed chicken breasts to shred, return the stock to a simmer for this step.
3. Once the rice is tender, return the shredded chicken to the pot and reduce the heat to low.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs until frothy, then whisk in the lemon juice.
5. Temper the egg mixture by slowly ladling in 1 to 2 cups of the hot broth, whisking constantly, to gradually raise its temperature without scrambling the eggs.
6. Slowly pour the tempered egg mixture back into the pot, stirring constantly. Cook over low heat, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes, until the soup thickens slightly and turns pale and creamy. Do not let it boil at this stage, or the eggs will curdle.
7. Season with salt and pepper, garnish with fresh dill, and serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

• The tempering step is the one place this recipe can go wrong. Add the hot broth to the eggs slowly, whisking the whole time, and never let the soup boil once the eggs are in.
• Fresh lemon juice makes a real difference here over bottled; the soup should taste bright, not just acidic.
• Leftovers reheat best on the stovetop over very low heat, stirred gently; microwaving in short bursts also works, but avoid a hard boil.
• For a heartier version, orzo instead of rice makes the soup feel a bit more substantial without changing the character of the dish.