Chicken Soup Avgolemono

In nearly every Greek restaurant you can find it: the soup list. Most of the people use this just as an appetizer, but why not to turn it into the main meal?

For this reason I decided to present you today how to cook one of the most famous soups of Greece- the Chicken Soup Avgolemono. Everything you need for a meal for 6 to 8 servings is the following:
•    1 whole chicken (about 3 1/2 lbs. with excess fat trimmed, breast skin removed)
•    12 cups of water
•    2 carrots (cut in half)
•    2 celery stalks (cut in half)
•    1 large onion (peeled, cut in half)
•    2 bay leaves
•    5 whole black peppercorns
•    2 tsp. salt
•    1/2 cup orzo pasta (rice is also possible)
•    3 eggs (room temperature)
•    1 tsp. fresh lemon zest
•    Juice of two lemons
•    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
•    Time! The preparation and cooking time amounts about 2h and 15min

And here are the steps how to prepare and cook:

1. Add the first eight ingredients to a large stockpot
2. Boil the water, leave it after that in the medium heat for 1 to 1,5 hours
3. Remove the chicken and vegetables into a bowl
4. Strain the broth carefully through a fine sieve into a large bowl
5. Return the broth to the stockpot, boil it again
6. Add the orzo pasta; let it cook for 10 – 12 minutes
7. Prepare the egg-lemon mixture: beat eggs, use a whisk to make it nice, frothy
8. Add the lemon zest and juice while whisking
9. Pasta has finished? Turn off the heat; use the ladle to put 2 cups of broth into a bowl
10. While whisking, add slowly hot broth to the egg-lemon mixture, afterwards
11. Add this to the hot broth it the pot (this will temper the eggs, prevent them from curdling) and boil it 5-10 Minutes with low heat
12. Season your taste with salt, pepper, …

You like your soup very thick? Add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, dissolve it in a bit of warm water to the broth before adding the egg-lemon mixture.

Happy cooking and enjoy your meal.