Friday, August 9, 2013

Avgolemono Soup (Greek Egg and Lemon Soup)


A bit of a shorter post today to the usual lengthy ramblings I tend to subject you to here on the Greek Vegetarian blog. With only 8 days to go before Tony and I leave for Greece, it's been a bit hectic trying to get everything organised before we leave, and our efforts to reduce our respective piles of work have left us feeling a bit frazzled!


And it's not just the craziness of work. The weather this week has been totally crazy too. The wind outside is so violent the trees are almost spinning around, and the rain is hurtling directly at my window. Birds are struggling to fly forward, showers of debris are landing in our back yard, and I could have sworn I just saw a branch torpedoing across the sky.

The mountain of work on my desk at the moment would form a spectacular tornado if I were to toss it outside right now. Please, can I do that? Oh what I would do to have no work in this final week before we leave for Greece!

Melbourne's current blast of revolting winter weather is perfect for one thing only: Soup. And oh, didn't I say a few days ago that my next post would be a soup? Well how about that :)


Avgolemono (meaning egg and lemon in Greek) is the name used to describe both a sauce and a soup. The soup is made with rice, the sauce without. Both the soup and sauce are often served with poached chicken or fish, but today's recipe is Avgolemono soup in its simplest form – meatless and delicious.

Light and frothy with a lemony tang, Avgolemono soup is surprisingly heart-warming on a freezing cold day. There are only four ingredients in vegetarian Avgolemono soup – eggs, lemon, vegetable stock and rice – and it's quick and fun to prepare, so let's go!


Avgolemono Soup (Greek Egg and Lemon Soup)


Serves 4–6

Ingredients

  • 6 cups vegetable stock
  • 1/2 cup long grain white rice
  • 2 eggs, separated
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice

Instructions

  1. Bring the stock to the boil and add rice. Simmer until tender.
  2. Meanwhile, beat eggs whites until soft peaks form.
  3. Slowly add lightly beaten egg yolks, continuing to beat at high speed.
  4. With beater still running, drizzle lemon juice into egg mixture, then add a cup or so of the hot stock to temper the eggs. Try not to let too much rice fall into the egg mixture at this stage.
  5. Transfer the egg mixture into the pot of stock and rice, and stir until combined. To retain a frothy top layer, don't over stir the mixture.
  6. Serve immediately with a generous grinding of freshly cracked black pepper.


27 comments:

  1. Avgolemono was always a favourite soup of mine although I never liked the bits of chicken in it much. My mum still makes it and all I seem to focus on now, that I'm not eating it, is how much fat is on the top from the chicken!

    Revolting weather indeed, our dodgy windows are rattling. You must be insanely looking forward to your holiday and I can understand why :)

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    1. No chicken in this one though, which means no chicken fat! I guess as a vegan the eggs make this version a no-goer for you anyway. I think this soup would still be pretty cool with just stock and lemon though! The lemon is the main thing I can taste when sipping on avgolemono.

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  2. Looks great, just a query on what kind of veggie stock you would use for this soup.

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    Replies
    1. For this version of Avgolemono I was lazy and used store-bought Campbell's Real Stock 100% natural liquid vegetable stock. I don't mind it because it has a fairly mild flavour and lets the lemon really come through. Of course you could make your own vegetable stock by simmering some onion halves with some carrots, celery, parsley and a bit of garlic for an hour or so, season and strain. The key is to not go too strong on the stock flavouring. The lemon is really what makes this soup so delicious :)

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  3. This sounds amazing. My sister used to rave about this soup as a diner near her, and I never thought it would be so simple to make! Love your photos too :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Christy! I didn't know how simple it was either until I made it! I've had it many times in restaurants and always thought the frothy egg part would be too hard to replicate. How wrong I was!

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  4. i've never heard of this soup before! i'm sure it's just what you need with the weather you've been having ;)

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    1. It definitely hits the spot during this time of the year :)

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  5. try making it with orzo pasta - small size - I usually use Barilla brand for this soup = amazing texture !!!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I love orzo pasta. I recently did a post on youvetsi which is a Greek dish that calls for it. We have some varieties of Barilla here in Australia but I haven't been able to find their orzo/risoni. I'm lucky that I live near a Greek deli that sells risoni imported from Greece so I use that when the recipe calls for it. I think it would be lovely in this soup. Must try that next time!

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  6. Your photos are divine! My mom made this all the time when we were kids and it's the most wonderful soup ever. I do like it with chicken, though. Orzo is great, too, though I don't find it changes the texture at all.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Luana! Yes, before becoming a vegetarian, the first time I tried Avgolemono it was with chicken. I think the lemon is really the nicest part of the soup though :)

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  7. Something I'd love to try! Delightful, I'm sure.

    cheers,

    Rosa

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  8. I think that weather is a sign that you need to go to Greece ASAP. Good thing you had your trip booked! :) I've heard of this soup before (or maybe it was the sauce?), but I've never tried it. But I love anything lemony!

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    1. Yes, definitely Kiersten. Our weather has been a sign for many things lately :) - going to Greece, moving to Brisbane.

      If you love anything lemony, you'll be swooned by this soup. It's great for a sore throat too :)

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  9. Hi -

    What size is a "cup" in ml?

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    1. Hi, I'm so sorry for the 8-month delay in responding! I'm sure it's too late for you now, but in case any one else is wondering, in Australia one cup is 250ml. This size is the measurement I use for this and all of my recipes.

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  10. How long does the rice need to be in the stock to be fully cooked before adding the lemon egg mixture?

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    1. Hi, the rice should be fully cooked after 15 minutes – at this point you can taste a few grains for tenderness just to be sure. Make sure the stock is simmering before adding the rice. Good luck, I hope you enjoy it!

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  11. Love this soup, it's a childhood favourite thou it contained fish this is still exactly what I remember. I've use this recipe many times.

    A quick tip for vegans, I know the juice from tinned chickpeas can be whipped to make meringue so maybe try that to sub the egg whites, a bit of corn starch will help to stabilise them.

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