This is our go-to dish when we want to use up leftover rice or chicken from the frig, or we have purchased a super tasty rotisserie chicken. We can prepare this amazingly elegant and umami packed soup in about 20 minutes, so it’s perfect for a weekday family soup. Classic Greek dishes, like Italian cuisine, are fairly simple as a recipe, but every great dish in both cultures depend entirely on the highest quality of ingredients. Avgolemono soup, (Avgolemono means “egg-lemon”), is a perfect example.

For the base, we boil down the bones of a rotisserie chicken for about 45 minutes, so it’s really bone broth. When cooled overnight in the frig, it thickens to become a jelly. We either simmer 1 cup of Jasmine rice in that broth until it’s al dente or we use leftover rice from the frig. Some folks use Arborio rice, traditionally used in risotto, but for us it’s a bit too much starch. We also use extra virgin olive oil, sweet onions and pasture raised eggs.

Authentic Avgolemono is savory and umami and a perfect balance of the tart lemon, the creamy silky eggs, and the sweet carrots and garden fresh dilll. This is a lovely and fragrant comfort dish the Greeks created long ago, on their beautiful ancient sun drenched land. Enjoy!

Ingredients…

4 chicken thighs, 2 breasts, or an entire chicken, free range and air chilled, already cooked and cut into bite sized pieces (we often use a rotisserie chicken from the store and debone)
6 to 8 cups chicken broth or bone broth (We boil down the bones of a rotisserie chicken for about 45 minutes, so it’s really bone broth, and we usually use that meat for the chicken.)
2 cups already cooked rice or 1 cup uncooked rice, Jasmine or Arborio or orzo (we usually use Jasmine, it’s a bit less starchy)
3 eggs, whipped
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, plus another 3 tablespoons for tempering the eggs
1/4 to 1/2 cup fresh diil, chopped (we use 1/2 cup because we love fresh dill)
5 large garlic cloves, finely sliced or crushed
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 to 6 large carrots, cut into small bite sized pieces
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons salt, to taste
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Cooking…

If you are using already cooked chicken thighs or breasts, cut the meat into bite sized pieces or shredded pieces. If you are using a whole rotisserie chicken, debone and cut the meat into pieces of your choice.

In a 12 inch saute or fry pan, saute the finely chopped onion, the garlic and the carrots until the onion is translucent and the carrots first begin to soften. (We cut the carrots into small triangular pieces, not coins, so they have a bit more bite in the soup.)

Now comes the crucial step of tempering the eggs, so your beautiful soup doesn’t become just scrambled egg soup. First whisk together the eggs. Slowly pour a ladle or two of hot broth into the egg mixture, gently whisking. This brings the eggs up to the same temperature as the soup. Now add the 3 tablespoons of lemon juice to stabilize the mixture. Slowly pour the tempered egg mixture back into the soup, stirring constantly. Very quickly the broth will thicken into a silky, lemony perfection.

Now add the chicken, the onions, carrots, rice, salt and pepper.

When these ingredients have had a chance to lightly simmer and marry, add the fresh lemon juice, along with the dill, reserving a bit more to garnish.

Opah!