In this last week of the winter Olympics, I had intended to post some Korean food recipes. But I have yet to master any of the great tasting Korean foods out there. My backup plan is to go with a recipe from the originators of the Olympic games, the islands of Greece.

My sister Diane is an awesome cook who is always learning to cook new things. (One of these days we are going to take some cooking classes together in Italy.) We share the new things we’ve made over social media since we don’t live very close to each other. This soup recipe is one Diane shared with me.

Diane experienced authentic Greek food first hand after traveling to Greece with her college roommate. Shortly after that, Diane met and married her husband, Nick, who is Greek. Since she liked the food of the Greek Isles and it was the birth place of her husband, Diane decided to learn to cook the food from that culture. She found a Greek cooking class close to her home in Maryland and spent one evening a week for several weeks with about 10 others at the home of an older Greek lady, Eva, who taught the group how to make many of the traditional Greek foods in her spare time. Diane learned how to work with phyllo dough (the trick is to keep it covered with parchment paper and a clean damp towel and work quickly) and how to make delicious desserts like baklava and galactaboureko, along with savory filled phyllo dishes like spanikopita. Popular Greek dishes like moussaka and avgolemono, an egg & lemon soup, were also part of the class.

While I haven’t mastered phyllo dough yet, we often make the Avgolemono Soup recipe Diane learned in that class. (I need some intense training & lots more practice before I’ll be able to make baklava as well as Diane does!) It has a bright and light taste, and is very nourishing. This is a great soup for this time of year.

Avgolemono Soup (adapted from Eva Poulos’ cooking classes) Serves 4 – 8

Ingredients:

• 9 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup orzo
• 2 large eggs
• juice of one lemon, about 4 tablespoons
• 1 cup shredded cooked chicken, optional

 

Directions:

Bring the broth to a boil. Add the orzo, return the soup to a boil and simmer, uncovered for 9 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the lemon zest into the pot.

When the orzo is almost cooked, begin preparing the egg-lemon sauce. Beat the eggs at high speed until they are light and frothy. Add the lemon juice and continue beating it for about 30 more seconds.

Remove the soup from the heat when the orzo is cooked. Using a ladle, slowly add hot soup to the egg mixture stirring in between ladles full, until about half of the soup has been added to the egg mixture.

Slowly pour the egg mixture back into the soup in the pot and whisk it well.

Add in the shredded chicken, if desired.

Serve the soup hot with some crusty bread.

An egg & lemon soup is light and perfect for this time of year!  ~Linda

Avgolemono Soup (adapted from Eva Poulos’ cooking classes)  Serves 4 – 8

Ingredients:

• 9 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup orzo
• 2 large eggs
• juice of one lemon, about 4 tablespoons
• 1 cup shredded cooked chicken, optional

Directions:

Bring the broth to a boil. Add the orzo, return the soup to a boil and simmer the soup, uncovered for 9 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the lemon zest into the pot.

When the orzo is almost cooked, begin preparing the egg-lemon sauce. Beat the eggs at high speed until they are light and frothy. Add the lemon juice and continue beating it for about 30 more seconds.

Remove the soup from the heat when the orzo is cooked. Using a ladle, slowly add hot soup to the egg mixture stirring in between ladles full, until about half of the soup has been added to the egg mixture.

Slowly pour the egg mixture back into the soup in the pot and whisk it well. Add in the shredded chicken if desired and serve the soup hot with some crusty bread.