Yummy Avgolemono (rice soup)

Avgolemono is one of the most elegant tricks in Greek home cooking: chicken broth simmered with rice, then thickened off the boil with whipped eggs and fresh lemon juice into a silky, golden, restorative soup. The whole thing comes together in 35 minutes with seven ingredients, and there’s no cream, no flour, no roux. Just protein, acid, and patience.

The critical move is tempering. Eggs whipped with lemon are slowly stretched with hot broth before going into the pot, which raises their temperature gradually so they thicken into velvet rather than scrambling into curds. From there, the soup never sees a boil again.

Chef Tips

• Use room-temperature eggs. Cold eggs from the fridge are more likely to seize when they hit hot broth, even with tempering.
• Whip the eggs and lemon hard, until pale and frothy. The air helps stabilize the emulsion when the hot broth goes in.
• Add hot broth to the egg mixture slowly, a thin stream while whisking constantly. Dump it in fast and you’ll get scrambled eggs.
• Once the egg mixture goes back into the pot, keep heat low and stir gently. If the soup boils, the proteins seize and you lose the silky texture.

Variations

• Stir in shredded cooked chicken at the end for a more substantial main-course soup.
• Swap rice for orzo pasta for the more traditional Greek version.
• Finish with a sprinkle of chopped fresh dill or mint for an herby lift.