Greek recipe: Avgolemono

In my book The Second Chance Hotel, which is set in Greece, Amelia does a lot of cooking for guests and friends. She learns from friends on the island. This post is part of a series of delicious Greek recipes.

When I was a kid living in Greece, my step-grandparents made wonderful Greek meals, but I was too young and probably too American to appreciate them then, especially because they were vegetable-heavy, with tomatoes and peppers, neither of which I liked much. As an adult, I have come full circle.

Avgolemono soup

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Avgolemono, which is pronounced ah-vgo-le-mono, is chicken lemon soup and it is HEAVEN. It is perfect any season, versatile, fast to make, and a dynamite dish to make with leftover rotisserie chicken or sous vide chicken. If you have neither, you could bake thighs or breasts and then add them in.

Ingredients

  • 2 lemons
  • 2 chicken breasts, cooked (leftover rotisserie is great)
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 2 eggs
  • Fresh dill, fronds picked, stems tossed
  • 1 1/2 cup cooked rice
  • Baby spinach
  • Salt and pepper
  • Extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

  1. Beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a separate bowl, juice the lemons.
  2. In a large pot over medium-high heat, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sauté until soft, about 7 minutes. Add the chicken broth and cooked rice, and stir to break up any clumps of rice. Add the chicken and simmer to warm through, 3 minutes. Scrape the bottom of the pot occasionally. Turn down the heat to low.
  3. Slowly stream 1 cup of the hot broth into the beaten eggs and whisk until smooth. Whisk the mixture back into the soup, and stir until thickened, but don’t let it boil, 1 minute. Remove from the heat, add the lemon juice and about 4 cups of the spinach, and stir until wilted, 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with dill and serve warm.

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