Avgolemono Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

Avgolemono Greek Lemon Chicken Soup 

Ingredients: 

For the soup: 

7 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs 

8 cups cold water 

1 large yellow onion, quartered an pealed

1 large  white onion, quartered and pealed

2 tablespoons whole peppercorns black or rainbow

1 tablespoon kosher salt 

1 cup dried orzo (or rice)

1 cup finely chopped carrots 

4 large eggs 

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2 large lemon) 

1 large pinch of saffron

For serving: 

1/2 medium lemon, thinly sliced 

Fresh oregano or cilantro

Freshly ground black pepper 

Optional Warm quartered pitas or naan for dipping and clean-up of the bowl 

Directions:

Place 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, 8 cups cold water, both quartered onions, 2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns (I used rainbow red, green, white and black mix), and 1 tablespoon kosher salt in a 5-quart or larger Dutch oven. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 30 to 45 minutes. 

Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Strain the stock through a mesh strainer set over a large heatproof bowl and discard the solids. Return the remaining stock to the Dutch oven and keep warm over low heat. 

Bring other chicken stock to a boil over medium-high heat. Add dried orzo or rice (I always use rice, as does the local Greek restaurant where I fell in love with this soup) and cook until al dente, 7 to 9 minutes for the orzo. For rice bring to boil, and boil for 7 minutes then reduce to low hear for 16 minutes. Stir the carrots into the rick once almost read. 

When the chicken is cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones and use your hands to shred or cube the meat into bite-sized pieces; set aside. 

Place 4 large eggs in a medium bowl and whisk until lightened in color and frothy, about 2 minutes. While whisking, slowly pour in the freshly squeezed lemon juice. While still whisking, temper in the eggs by slowly drizzling  2 to 4 cups of warm stock into the egg-lemon mixture. This warms the eggs just enough so that they do not curdle when added to the hot soup. 

Add the rice and carrot mixture, and the chicken back to the main pot. Slowly stir in the avgolemono back into the pot with the chicken and orzo and stir to combine. Cook until the soup thickens slightly, 3 to 5 minutes, but do not let it come to a boil. 

Pour the soup into serving bowls and serve with lemon slices, fresh chopped  oregano or cilantro, and freshly ground black pepper. 

Note: when reheating you might need to add more broth and lemon. You can also add a quick squeeze of lemon right before serving for some extra zip.

What Is Avgolemono? 

Avgolemono refers to a Greek sauce made from eggs, lemon, and warm broth. Literally it translates egg-lemon αυγολέμονο or αβγολέμονο. Often used for thickening soups and also used to dress up everything from roasted vegetables to fish dishes. 

Variation of original recipe found here.  

You can see all the recipes I have created and collected here on OneNote.

Or all soups on the blog click here.