Kotosoupa Avgolemono (Greek chicken soup)

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Every culture has the ultimate “medicine” soup. The fixer-upper of all ailments. For Greeks it’s the kotosoupa with avgolemono, chicken soup with egg and lemon. Growing up when ever the weather turned cold, every time I was sick my mum would appear with a big bowl of yumminess.

Avgolemono literally translates to egg (avgo) and lemon (lemono), it’s the key ingredients for many Greek sauces and soups. Egg, lemon and stock mixed slowly together to create a silky liquid sauce. Stock from fish, chicken, meat, meatballs and vegetables is the flavour enhancer and the eggs and lemon are the thicker. I particularly love avgolemono with chicken as we are making here, giouvarlakia (see here) and dolmades, I’m saving that for another time.

The other great thing about this soup is that it requires so few ingredients and the taste is amazing.

Serve this beautiful Greek soup hot with heaps of cracked pepper and crusty bread and enjoy the wholesome flavours of Southern Europe.

Recipe

Avgolemono

Ingredients

• 1 cup short grain or arborio rice

• 1.5kg whole chicken or chicken pieces

• 2 litres of water (you could use a little less if you want it thick)

• 50g butter

• 2 eggs room temperature

• 2 lemons (juiced)

• salt & pepper

Directions

1. Wash the chicken thoroughly

2. Add chicken and water in a large pot, making sure the chicken is submerged completely

3. Boil the chicken in medium heat with the lid on for about 1 hour and 15 min until chicken is falling off the bone

4. Remove chicken from the stock and set aside

5. Drain the stock into another pot

6. Shred the chicken

7. Add rice, butter, salt & peper, boil until the rice has cooked through (I tend to taste one to make sure)

8. In a mixing bowl whisk the eggs.

9. Once eggs are whisked, very slowly add the lemon juice making sure that you are swiftly whisking the eggs until lemon and eggs are combined throughly

10. With a laddle, take some of the boiling soup liquid and slowly add to the lemon/egg mixture constantly whisking that as well (see photos)

11. Once mixed through, slowly add mixture back to the pot and again mix through

12. Add the shredded chicken

13. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes over a slow heat

14. Serve hot with crusty bread and extra pepper

HINT 1: The lemon/egg (avgolemono) is a little tricky, just make sure you mix the lemon in with the egg quickly so it won’t curdle and do the same when you mix the soup liquid with the egg/lemon mixture so the egg doesn’t cook and separate

HINT 2: You can add carrots, celery and onion to make the stock but I prefer the flavour of the chicken to be the stock so I tend not to add anything. Again it is a personal preference