Description
Avgolemono is a traditional Greek soup made with tender chicken, orzo, and a creamy egg-lemon mixture, offering a comforting and tangy experience in every spoonful.
Ingredients
Scale
- 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 8 cups cold water
- 1 large unpeeled yellow onion, quartered
- 2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup dried orzo
- 4 large eggs
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)
- For serving:
- 1/2 medium lemon, thinly sliced
- Fresh dill or oregano
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the chicken and make the stock: Place the chicken thighs, cold water, onion, peppercorns, and salt in a 5-quart or larger Dutch oven. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Cook until the chicken is fully cooked through, around 45 minutes to 1 hour. Skim off any foam that forms on the surface.
- Strain the stock: Transfer the cooked chicken to a cutting board. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer into a large heatproof bowl and discard the solids. If there’s too much fat, skim it off with a spoon or use a fat separator. Reserve 2 cups of the stock for later use. Return the remaining stock to the Dutch oven and keep warm over low heat.
- Shred the chicken: When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred the meat into bite-sized pieces using your hands. Discard the skin and bones.
- Cook the orzo: Bring the stock back to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the dried orzo and cook until al dente, about 7 to 9 minutes. Stir in the shredded chicken and reduce the heat to low.
- Prepare the egg-lemon mixture (avgolemono): In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until they are light in color and frothy (about 2 minutes). Slowly whisk in the freshly squeezed lemon juice. Gradually add the reserved 2 cups of warm stock to the egg-lemon mixture while whisking constantly to temper the eggs and prevent them from curdling.
- Finish the soup: Pour the avgolemono (egg-lemon mixture) back into the pot with the chicken and orzo. Stir everything together and cook over low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until the soup thickens slightly. Be careful not to let the soup boil.
- Serve: Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with thin lemon slices, freshly chopped dill or oregano, and freshly ground black pepper.
Notes
- For a vegetarian version, replace the chicken with vegetable broth and add chickpeas for protein.
- Adjust lemon juice to taste for desired tanginess.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hr 15 mins
- Category: soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Greek
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 1g
- Sodium: 900mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 35g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 25
- Cholesterol: 220mg