Youll love this authentic Greek Avgolemono Soup Recipe. Ah-vgo-le-mono, as the Greeks pronounce it, is a silky, rich, fragrant chicken soup, prepared Greek-style with avgolemono sauce (lemon-egg sauce.) Best part, this weeknight version comes together in just over 30 minutes.
A couple of important tips make all the difference, be sure to read through this post and watch my video for how to make Greek avgolemono.
Chicken soup is one of those nostalgic dishes known as a home remedy to comfort the sick or relief the cold chill in the air. Its also one of those universal foods every culture, and every household, has some version of–noodles or not.
Ill never pass up a warm bowl of homemade chicken soup, but one of my favorites for sure is the Greek version: the egg and lemon soup known as Avgolemono.
Avgolemono is no ordinary chicken rice soup. There is just something special, and extra luxurious, about Avgolemono, a combination of egg and lemon thats used in many Greek dishes, from this soup to Youvarlakia (Greek Meatball Soup). Here, the fluffy and lemony combination makes for a decidedly rich, comforting chicken soup with a silky broth thats heavily scented with lemon. Delicious!
Im telling you, if you have not tried Greek avgolemono soup, you are in for a treat!
Avgolemono, pronounced ah-vgo-le-mono (the “g” is there, but its a lighter g…almost silent), refers to the tasty Greek sauce from which this chicken soup gets its name. Avgolemono sauce is a silky and fragrant sauce made of eggs, lots of lemon, and warm broth.
Greek cooks use avoglemono sauce to augment or dress a number of things from Avgolemono soup, to roast chicken, vegetables, and even dolmades (grape leaves.) Avgolemono sauce does make a difference, infusing a dish with richness and bright notes of lemon.
Avgolemono (Greek: αυγολέμονο or αβγολέμονο literally egg–lemon) is a family of sauces and soups made with egg yolk and lemon juice mixed with broth, heated until they thicken.
Two Important Tips for Making Avgolemono Soup:
So, its the avgolemono sauce that makes all the difference in this chicken soup, providing a silky thick consistency and adding that extra zing. Two important tips when it comes to this sauce and making avgolemono soup:
1. Make sure to temper the sauce. To make avgolemono sauce, youll need to whisk two eggs with ½ cup of lemon, and while whisking with one hand, pour in two ladles of the hot chicken broth from your soup. Thats really the trickiest part of this soup, but its not that difficult. And if you need to, ask someone to help you pour in the broth, while you do the whisking.
2. Add avgolemono sauce to the soup at the very end, and immediately remove from heat. This is your very last step in the process, be sure to remove the soup from heat immediately or the eggs might begin to cook and the soup separates (youre not looking for an egg drop soup here.)
Lets get to the step-by-step of how to make Greek avgolemono soup, and youll see how easy it is…
Step-by-Step for Greek avgolemono soup:
1- In a large pot or Dutch oven, saute carrots, celery and green onions…and, a couple minutes later, add garlic.
2- Add broth and bay leaves. Bring to a rolling boil, then add the rice (Tip: I like to soak rice in water for a few minutes before using, this helps it cook quickly and evenly.) Season with kosher salt and pepper.
Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes or until the rice is tender. Now, stir in shredded cooked chicken (I used rotisserie chicken.)
3- Prepare the avgolemono sauce (egg-lemon sauce). In a medium bowl, whisk two eggs with the lemon juice. While whisking, add in 2 ladles-full of the broth from your cooking pot (this is to temper the sauce.)
Add the sauce to the chicken soup and immediately remove from heat (this is important you do not want the eggs to cook and the soup to separate.)
Can you use orzo instead of rice in this Avgolemono recipe?
Yes, orzo is fine to use instead of rice in this recipe. You can use 1 cup orzo, and watch cooking time as orzo will cook more quickly (about 7 minutes or so)
How to Make Greek Lemon & Egg Chicken Soup (Avgolemono) | You Can Cook That | Allrecipes.com
FAQ
What is the meaning of avgolemono?
Where does avgolemono come from?
How do you use avgolemono in a sentence?
What does avgolemono mean in Greek?
In Greek, egg is avgo and lemon is lemoni, so the work avgolemono literally translates to egg and lemon-y. Do the eggs get cooked? Yes, your eggs will cook when making the avgolemono. The warm broth will cook the eggs.
What is avgolemono?
First, let’s cover the basics: avgolemono is a Greek word pronounced ahv-go-LE-mono and translates literally to egg-lemon, avgo being Greek for “egg” and lemoni meaning, you guessed it — lemon. Avgolemono is actually both a soup and a sauce.
What is Greek egg lemon & avgolemono sauce?
I will teach you how to do that! You will find that Greek egg lemon or avgolemono sauce is used in several traditional Greek recipes like avgolemono soup (the Greek rice and chicken soup), yiouvarlakia, artichoke and peas stew and in some cabbage roll recipes to name a few.
How to make Avgolemono?
To make the traditional Avgolemono recipe (egg lemon sauce) you will need 2-3 eggs (at room temperature), the juice of 2-3 lemons (depending on how lemony you want tour sauce to taste) and some broth.