Greek chicken Soup with Egg and Lemon Sauce

· by · in Greek Recipes 2. ·

Today I will share with you my Greek recipe for chicken soup that’s made with a creamy egg and lemon sauce (avgolemono). This dish is yummy, filling, and particularly beneficial during winter to fight off those nasty bugs!

INGREDIENTS (serves 2-3)

2 drumsticks (or whole legs) and 2-3 chicken wings

½ cup of rice for soup (‘glacé’, if you’re in Greece)

1 chicken stock cube

Juice of a small to medium lemon

1 big carrot sliced

2-3 stalks of lean Greek celery cut up coarsely with their leaves (not celery sticks)

1 large egg (separated)

1 red onion (cut up in thick slices)

A dash of olive oil, salt, pepper

 

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PREPARATION

Fill a large pot halfway up with water and dissolve the stock cube in it. When it comes to boil, throw in the chicken pieces.

Add salt, olive oil, and the onion. Cover and leave to simmer.

Check the chicken after about 45 minutes. When cooked, remove the chicken pieces, place in a platter.

Throw in the rice, the celery and the carrot and bring to boil, then cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, separate the meat from the bone and the skin.

When the rice is nearly done, prepare the egg and lemon sauce:

Beat the egg white first with a fork or a whisker. Add the yolk, beat some more, then add the lemon juice SLOWLY while beating.

Collect about half a cup of stock from the pot with a ladle or spoon. As you beat the egg, add the stock SLOWLY. This is important and the reason is to warm up the egg slowly, otherwise the sauce will be ruined (it won’t thicken).

Turn off the heat and pour the egg mix over the soup. Throw in the meat, add pepper, and mix gently with a spoon. Cover and leave on the stove for a minute, then serve with feta cheese and fresh bread. Kali orexi!

NOTE: You can use chicken breast too, but I recommend legs and wings as this is where all the taste is. To make the sauce even thicker, add an extra egg yolk and use a blender to mix the separated eggs, then transfer to a bowl before adding the lemon juice.

KALI OREXI!!!!

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21 responses to “Greek chicken Soup with Egg and Lemon Sauce”

  1. That’s a fantastic recipe, Fros! It’s a big favourite in our household as well! I prepare a small portion whenever I cook chicken, even if I mean to roast it. I just remove the breasts, wings and legs which I prepare any way I want, and I just boil the chest bones (I don’t know if there’s a name for it in English). Of course, this will make a much smaller portion (maybe just a couple of serves) but this way there’s almost always chicken soup available.

    An interesting tidbit: I think that the egg and lemon sauce (our avgolemono) is found only in Greek cuisine! It’s our own patent!

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    • Oh yes, I also do that sort of thing lots. In this country we don’t throw away food, ever, right? And I do believe what you said about egg and lemon sauce being found only in Greek cuisine. We seem to use lemon everywhere and what a gem that is for our health – so many benefits 🙂

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  2. When we first moved to Crete, we were bowled over by the egg and lemon sauce – it is exquisite. It soon became clear just how much lemon juice was used in Greek cooking and we now add it to almost everything! Another favourite soup is the fish one you make over here. I do hope you’ll be giving us your recipe for that. We’ve found it excellent for bad stomachs!

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    • It is lovely to hear from you again honey – thank you for commenting! Yes, we Greeks adore our lemons; let alone its yummy combination with egg. My favourite dish that uses this sauce is Lahanodolmades. My Corfiot grandma makes it extra frothy by beating the egg with an electric hand mixer. As for the fish soup you mention, I’ll be happy to oblige! My mother makes a killer fish soup that she serves with this sauce or just with lemon, mainly with kokkinopsaro (the name of this fish in English evades me but I can try look it up!). I’ll get the recipe and blog this in due course. Thank you again for stopping by 🙂

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      • A quick Google search and it looks like kokkinopsaro is red snapper, which I don’t think I’ve ever eaten anyway! I can’t wait for the recipe. I hate being called ‘dear’ but I love being called ‘honey’. And it seems highly appropriate now we’re in Crete. 🙂

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    • Hi there! No question is ever a silly question! Yes, skin on. If you look at the note in the bottom, it says this is one of the chicken parts that gives the soup all the yumminess. So you definitely don’t want to miss out! If you opt to put the flesh back in and serve it with the rice in the end, I’d take the skin out. Thank you for commenting dear! Enjoy it f you try this out 🙂

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  6. Great récipe, Fros. I’ve passed it on to Mr T. He does a lot of Greek cooking, including the most wonderful chicken with potatoes and lemon sauce. And beef stifato is another of my favourites. Oh, and beans, He does a lovely beans in tomato sauce dish.
    I’m looking forward to coming to Athens so much. Will I be able to have choriatiki in January? Or are some of the ingredients out of season?
    Loads of love
    Jenny
    xx

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    • Jenny, enjoy the recipe – sounds like you’ll love it 🙂 I can’t wait to meet up in January 🙂 You can have choriatiki all year round in Greece, although for the ultimate enjoyment you need ingredients that have matured in the scorching summer sun. Still, I’m sure you’ll be able to sample this dish. Come have it at home with me and I’ll make sure to give you as top quality as poss in the midst of winter 🙂

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  7. To: First Night Design: Sorry, I don’t know your name so had to use a term of endearment to address you 🙂 I’m glad I did okay there with ‘honey’! Thank you for looking up kokkinopsaro. It is a red-coloured fish with a sweet taste. Very commonly used for soups here but you can use lots of other kinds of fish for a soup of course.

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      • Always a pleasure, Fros. I love your recipes. When I was in grade school and Junior High, my best friend was Greek. She was gorgeous! Long curly dark hair, the whole bit. Her and I used to go horseback riding together. (She was part of Savanna in my book) Anyway, I was lucky to eat with her family on numerous occasions and her mother was a wonderful cook. Fond memories. ❤

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