Avgolemono Soup

"I have seen the Lady of April bringing daffodils, bringing the springing grass and the soft warm April rain." John Masefield

Good day my happy followers! How was your weekend?
Rarely do my sweetie Kevin and I both have a weekend off, so I am happy to say that we just spent two lovely, lazy Spring days together! We took advantage of the mild weather and went for a leisurely stroll and had all of the windows wide open. I love the smell of fresh, rainy air. I picked some flowers and also did a bit of work in our garden and also did some cooking, of course! It being Orthodox Easter, I only had one dish on my mind... Allow me to explain! My best friend Mary's background is Macedonian and Greek. Growing up and visiting her house was always filled with culinary adventures! Being brought up in an English home, I discovered so many exotic and strange flavours at Mary's house. Feta cheese, olives, oregano, roasted peppers, spanakopita and all of the special foods that are prepared at Easter time. Brightly coloured red and turquoise eggs, braided Easter bread flavoured with mahlab seeds and those scrumptious dense cookies, dusted with so much icing sugar that they are best eaten over the sink! And last but not least, my favourite, avgolemono soup. Yum! Simply made of homemade chicken broth, thin noodles, egg and lemon. So fresh, so vibrant, absolutely delicious and prefect for Spring. For my version of avgolemono, I have used Helen's soup as inspiration.

Simple and Tasty Recipe:

Avgolemono Soup
(serves 6  to 8)

6 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade) or low sodium store bought

2 chicken thighs, skinless and boneless (or 1 cup cooked chicken, chopped)

2/3 cup orzo pasta (or rice or noodles)

2 eggs

½ lemon, juiced

Sea salt
1 tbsp parsley, chopped for garnish
6 thin slices of lemon for garnish

Place the stock in a medium pot and bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and add in the chicken thighs. Cover with a lid and simmer until fully cooked, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the thighs and set aside for a few minutes to cool, then chop into small pieces. Stir the orzo into the broth, replace the lid and allow to simmer for another 8 to 10 minutes until the pasta is el dente. Add the chopped chicken thighs back into the soup. Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl until frothy, whisk in the lemon juice. Remove a ladle of the hot chicken broth and vigorously whisk it into the eggs and lemon juice. Whisk this egg mixture back into the pot of broth. Remove the soup from the heat, taste and adjust seasoning. Serve immediately and garnish with the chopped parsley and slice of lemon. Kali orexi!

Avgolemono soup is a delicate soup that must be eaten immediately after being made, or the egg will separate. Of course, my version of this soup is different from Mary's Mum's, but it's still very tasty! Well, my followers, that's my adventure for today but there will be another one next week! And as a matter of fact, Kevin and I are going to be doing some wine tasting in Niagara-on-the-Lake this week, so I will definitely tell you all about it! Have a great week and I'll be back next Monday!