Egg-Lemon Soup (Avgolemeno)

Jamie Stolper

I have always wanted to make Egg-Lemon Soup, a Mediterranean staple, as this is one of the few soups that all the members of my family enjoy.  Chicken soup disappears very quickly in my home, however, so my plans to attempt this always fell through for lack of the basic ingredient.  With a goal of creating a sephardic high holiday menu for ShalomBoston.com, however, I made a batch of chicken stock one evening and the next day, when my husband and sons took off to visit relatives, I stayed behind to test egg-lemon soups and other dishes, one of my favorite parts of my job here at ShalomBoston.com.  I tried several recipes, with different amounts of rice, eggs, and lemon, and this version, just mildly lemon-flavored, was the most preferred by my family upon their return.  It is very easy, and I will definitely make it again.  For a heartier soup, reserve some of the chicken meat used in making the stock and add it at the end of the cooking.

Ingredients

6 cups rich chicken stock
½ cup Arborio rice
2 eggs
Juice of 1 lemon (about ¼ cup), or to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium sauce pan, bring the stock to a boil.  Add the rice and simmer, uncovered, approximately 20 minutes, or until the rice is tender.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs.  Beat in the lemon juice.  Take a ladle-full of the stock and slowly add to the egg mixture, whisking constantly to keep the eggs from hard-cooking.  Repeat with another ladle-full of stock.

Slowly pour the soup with the egg back into the saucepan, continuing to whisk over low heat, until thickened (but do not boil).  Remove from heat, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

This soup can be refrigerated and heated gently before serving.

Serves 4-6