The flu virus has completely fucked up my entire week, ladies and gents! The only bright spot was when my in-laws went to the grocery store for me. They not only got me everything we needed to survive this wretched week, but they also brought us three large containers of Avgolemono, lemon/egg soup, from their favorite Greek restaurant. Avgolemono is a thick and hearty soup that tastes so comforting, especially when you’re sick. Unfortunately for everyone in our house, someone (me) ate all three containers in one day. Below is my attempt to make my own version of this traditional Greek soup.
After my family ate this soup, my husband called me from work to tell me how much he loved it and my son kept asking me if I really made this from scratch without a recipe. You too can have your family compliment you, all while doubting your honesty, if you try this soup!
Enjoy!
Greek Lemon Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 dozen baby carrots or 2 large carrots, chopped
- 6 cups chicken broth or 2 tbsp. Better than Boulliuon Chicken broth with 6 cups water
- 1/2-1 cup chopped or shredded cooked chicken Not gonna lie, I used Chick Fil A's grilled nuggets, but rotisserie chicken would also work.
- 1/2 cup acini di pepe, orzo or rice, uncooked
- 2 medium red-skinned potatoes, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup chopped spinach, fresh or frozen
- 1 egg beaten
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
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Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven and add in the minced garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Don't worry if you burn the garlic. The soup will still taste good, (speaking from experience here).
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Add the onion and carrot to the pot and sauté for 5 minutes or until onions become translucent.
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Pour in the 6 cups chicken broth and bring everything to a rolling boil.
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Add the chopped potatoes, spinach, chicken and the 1/2 cup of pasta or rice to the pot and simmer according to the package directions. I used acini di pepe and cooked it for 10 minutes.
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Add 1/4 cup lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. You may want to add less lemon juice or more, depending on how lemony you want your soup to be.
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Crack and beat one egg in a small bowl. Temper the egg by slowly adding hot broth one spoonful at a time to heat up the egg without scrambling it. If you put in the cold egg you'll have bits of scrambled egg in your soup instead of one that's been incorporated in to create a thick and creamy soup.
Recipe Notes
Serve the soup with crumbled feta cheese to really enhance the flavors.
You can always swap the veggies for anything you have on hand. I just happened to have spinach and red-skinned potatoes that I needed to use up.
I love using this Better than Bouillon soup base because it lasts a long time and make a ton of broth without taking up a lot of room in the fridge.
If you want a more standard chicken soup, feel free to omit the lemon juice and/or the egg, but honestly, I think that would be a mistake.
For more on how to temper eggs, check out this video.
I’m praying that the flu stays far away from the rest of you and that Punxsutawney Phil is proven to be a dirty, stinkin’ liar. Three cheers for an early spring!
♥ Erin
