Avgolemono (Lemony Chicken) Soup
This traditional greek soup is called Avgolemono and it literally translates to a lemony chicken soup. It’s simple but somehow the way you cook it results in a creamy luxurious texture (without cream). It is comforting yet refreshing with a perfect burst of lemon and the kind of broth that just makes everything better. We are definitely going to make this recipe a staple for years to come and although a bit complicated the first time - It’s totally worth it!! You can customize the ratios of lemon, chicken, and rice here - so have fun with it the second time you make it! We made this using a whole chicken so that our broth would be packed with skin friendly nutrients and lots of collagen but we included how to use a frozen boneless chicken breast as well so it’s flexible!
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken or 2 small boneless chicken breasts
2-4 lemons
1 pack orzo
1 cube chicken broth
3 eggs
Chicken options: Using a whole chicken enhances the flavour of the broth but you will need to carefully carve away the meat from the bones so we’ve included an option to use boneless chicken breasts as well. Save what you don’t need for later (if you used a whole chicken your broth has more nutrients and collagen in it - but you may not need all the chicken for one batch of soup).
Instructions
Place your chicken breasts in a pot with water (enough to cover the whole thing) and add a handful of salt. You can do this with frozen chicken breast as well. Cover the pot and lower the heat slightly so it stays at a pretty rapid simmer. Depending on the size of your chicken breasts, they should simmer for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes remove it, and cut it open to check that it’s cooked. The internal temperature should be 165°. If they need more time check every 5 minutes. Don't let them overcook or they will become rubbery. If you’re cooking a whole chicken, it will need to cook for around 1 hour and you’ll need to turn it half way through
Remove frothy layer of the water with a spatula
Strain the broth and then add a cube of chicken broth
Wash your pot and put the clean broth back in. Add 1/2 a cup of orzo to your pot. You can also use rice. Bring it back to a boil and then lower to medium heat for about 15 minutes while the rice cooks. Add salt to taste
In a medium/large bowl, beat 3 eggs. Squeeze lemon into it.
Spoon some of the broth into the egg mixture, making sure to keep whisking the whole time. You want to avoid cooking the egg and bring its temperature up so you can add it back to the main pot of broth
Keep going until you’ve spooned about 1/2 a cup of the broth into the eggs.
Now you can slowly add back the broth/egg mixture to the larger pot and turn up the heat to get ready for serving
Now you’re ready to shred or carve your chicken with two forks and add it back to the soup. Taste it and add more lemon if you like it super lemony. Enjoy!