ontheedgeofeverything

Most people don’t tend to associate lemons with soup, and understandably so; when we think of soup, we normally conjure images in our minds of certain types and flavours, some common ones being chicken noodle, potato leek and tomato.

Lemons are not something that immediately comes to mind, to say the least.

But, as odd as it might sound, there is one type of soup in which lemon works absolute wonders, and it is known as Avgolemono, which is Greek Lemon Chicken Soup. When I was a kid, my mom purchased some at our local farmers’ market, and with the palate of a 10-year-old, I automatically pulled my nose up at the idea of lemon in soup. Then I tried it and was quickly eating humble pie because it’s positively scrumptious.

With cooler weather upon us, I thought I would share a recipe for this joyous soup, and the following one comes from camillestyles.com.

“Greek Lemon Chicken Soup (Avgolemono)

“Ingredients

• 4 carrots, sliced
• 6 green onions, sliced
• 4 celery, sliced
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup rice
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• Chopped italian parsley for garnish

“Instructions

1. In a dutch oven, warm olive oil over medium heat, then sauté carrots, green onions, celery, and garlic for about 5 minutes until softened. Season chicken with salt and pepper, then add to the pot.
2. Pour the chicken broth over the chicken to cover, then cover with the lid and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 25 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. 
3. Remove chicken from the pot and set aside, then add the rice. Return lid to pot and cook for 20 minutes until rice is tender.
4. Meanwhile, shred chicken using two forks (or add to your stand mixer and let it do the shredding for you!)
5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and the eggs. Then slowly whisk in 2 cups of the hot broth, to temper the eggs so they don’t scramble when you add to the soup.
6. Add the chicken and the sauce to the soup pot, give it all a good stir. Season to taste with salt and pepper
7. Divide into bowls, garnish with parsley, and eat!” the recipe states.

Bon appétit.

Photo by Angélica Echeverry on Unsplash