In spite of this Greek chicken soup (aka avgolemono) being the single most popular dinner we ran in Cookie* and in spite of it being the first on the list of Victoria Granof-written recipes that we knew must be included in the cookbook, and in spite of the fact that it takes 15 minutes to whip up from start to finish, I had never actually tried it until last Thursday. At which point Phoebe picked up her bowl and drank every last drop, and at which point my husband nearly wept with joy, and at which point I began almost immediately emailing everyone I knew demanding they try it asap. (Abby will weigh in later, after her “15-20 exposures.”)
Avgolemono
4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup uncooked orzo
salt and pepper
3 eggs
3 tablespoons lemon juice
shredded rotisserie chicken (optional)
In a large saucepan, bring the broth to a boil.
Add the orzo and cook until tender but still al dente, about 7 minutes. Season with the salt and pepper and reduce heat to low; let simmer.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and lemon juice until smooth. Ladle about 1 cup of the hot broth into the egg-and-lemon mixture, whisking to combine.
Add the mixture back to the simmering saucepan. Stir just until the soup becomes opaque and thickens as the eggs cook, 1 to 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper (to taste) and chicken if you have it, and serve.
14 responses so far ↓
1 Heather // Dec 14, 2010 at 11:11 pm
I have to agree – this recipe alone would make the book worth buying. SO good! And it’s a huge hit with both hubby and 6 year old.
2 Amy // Dec 15, 2010 at 3:23 pm
I agree! I made this when it was published in Cookie and now again recently from the cookbook!
Love in a bowl.
3 Melissa // Dec 17, 2010 at 2:44 pm
My very picky 21-month-old love this soup! And I was thrilled to bring leftovers for lunch. Yum.
4 Caroline // Sep 8, 2011 at 2:50 pm
I’m confused. At what point do you add the other 3 cups of chicken broth?
5 jenny // Sep 8, 2011 at 3:18 pm
You add the egg-lemon-broth mixture BACK to the broth that has been simmering on the stove. If you added the egg-lemon mixture all at once, the eggs would scramble. By adding a little hot broth first, you are tempering the mixture to prevent scrambling. Make sense?
6 incrediblecrunchyflavor // Sep 9, 2011 at 3:08 pm
is it possible to reheat this soup? or does that ruin the eggs?
7 Andrea // Sep 11, 2011 at 2:39 pm
Did you include some sort of herb in your soup? What are the pretty green bits in there? Thanks, thanks looks great!
8 Anastasia // Sep 12, 2011 at 12:34 am
oh my parents are Greek and I never thought id be able to make this as good as my mum does – but I gave it a go and now its my favourite soup to make – so easy too!
I think mine always ends up tastier than my mums, but i wont tell her that of course!
9 Valerie @ From Valerie's Kitchen // Sep 19, 2011 at 6:42 pm
I can’t wait to try this! My hubby will go nuts!!!
10 susana // Sep 22, 2011 at 4:28 pm
i second the question on the pretty green floating herbs in the sauce. is that dill?
whenever i make a chicken-based soup, i usually just add cilantro… making nearly all my chicken-based soups taste delicious, but the same.
what else do you suggest for putting in basic chicken soups?
thanks!
11 Paloma // Oct 3, 2011 at 3:56 pm
Mmm I just tried it, had no chicken but smoked salmon (OK, surely not the same); so I added some more lemon juice and some chive and it is delicious! Can’t wait to try it tomorrow with chicken!!!
12 courtney // Oct 8, 2011 at 10:24 pm
This soup was delicious! I did do a couple of things differently, though. First, I cooked a medium bone-in skin-on chicken breast in broth until done. I then discarded the bones and skin and proceeded with the recipe from there. At the end, I added some chopped spinach which would have been good had I let it cook long enough.
Overall, it’s a simple tasty soup that my “I don’t like food/don’t like to eat” three-year old enjoyed.
13 Jessica // Dec 28, 2011 at 6:43 pm
I love this soup! This is the recipe I give to friends who aren’t too confident in the kitchen.
14 Antoinette // Jan 16, 2012 at 10:19 am
Yes, what is that herb? I’m thinking dill but please let us know.
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