When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Avgolemono Soup
Growing up, Avgolemono was a staple soup in the house. It’s a wonderful chicken soup with a hint of lemon! It’s quite literally the easiest soup to make, and a favorite of the kids. I don’t have to alter this recipe to make it gluten and or dairy free because it naturally is.
When it’s cold outside, or someone has a nasty cold, this soup is the most requested. As a matter of fact, typically my daughter requests Avgolemono Soup Fridays with a Greek Salad, and the boys tell me not to forget the gluten free, dairy free biscuits that I will share another day.
Here’s the easy recipe with ingredients:
1 whole uncooked chicken with giblets removed
1 1/2 cups rice
8 room temperature eggs
1 cup lemon juice (can be freshly squeezed or from concentrate)
32 ounce container chicken stock
Salt & pepper to taste
Enough water to cover chicken
In a 12 quart stock pot, add chicken, salt to taste, and fill with water, enough to cover chicken. (You can add a 32 oz. carton of chicken broth or even a few bouillon cubes for a more flavorful soup)
Cook on high to medium high without letting the chicken boil over for 1 hour (or until chicken is cooked).
Remove chicken and set aside to cool.
While chicken is cooling, add in rice. Let rice cook for 1 hour.
Once chicken is cooled, pick, cut, and add back into soup.
Add in chicken stock. (I do this to add more flavor, especially if the chicken wasn’t very fatty).
With 15 minutes remaining (of the 1 hour rice cooking time), remove about 2 cups of chicken stock and set aside.
Separate egg whites and egg yolks, placing egg whites in a mixing bowl, and egg yolks in a bowl.
Beat egg white until they are almost a meringue, about 8-10 minutes.
Add in egg yolks one at a time and beat.
Slowly add in the lemon juice.
Temper in the chicken stock that you set aside.
Temper in the avgolemono mixture to the big pot.
Let cook 10 minutes and serve.
A side note: I don’t add pepper to anything I cook because I am allergic to it. I always set it to the side (with extra lemon for those who like extra lemon) so others can enjoy it and I do not have to suffer.
