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Inauthentic Avgolemono
Nov. 2nd, 2021 10:52 amI'm not Greek.
I was introduced to this dish, which is the present-in-many-cultures chicken soup convalescent food. This version is cobbled together from several different internet sources and then some experimentation.
What follows is a slightly time-intensive, but not labor- or thought-intensive, rendition from someone who doesn't have the cultural background to know what this soup is supposed to be.
In short, your Greek grandmother will probably curse me if you ever make this and serve it to her.
Makes a little more than a half gallon.
8 to 10 cups of water
1 or 1-1/2 lbs of chicken (once the bones are removed)
2 lemons
3 or 4 medium-to-large eggs
1 onion
1 cup rice
1-2 tablespoons (yes, I said tablespoons) whole black peppercorns
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
4 cloves garlic
4-6 bay leaves
a little olive oil
salt
Peel and roughly chop the onion (into quarters or eighths). Put the onion chunks, the chicken, and the peppercorns into the water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for 45 minutes.
While it's doing that, chop the carrots and celery. Sautee the carrots, celery, and bay leaves in the olive oil for a few minutes, and then add the garlic. Turn the heat off quickly, so the garlic is sauteed but not caramelized. Leave the sauteed stuff on the stove for now.
After the 45-minute simmer is done, get the chicken out of the pot and put on a cutting board. Strain the stock, reserve two cups separately (with the rest back in the pot), and throw away the onion pieces and peppercorns.
Add the rice to the stock, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and let cook for 20 minutes.
Shred the chicken (with two forks, or your fingers).
After the 20-minute simmer is done, add the sauteed vegetables and chicken back to the pot. Salt to taste (I use maybe 2 teaspoons for the whole pot; other people like salt more than I do). Bring back to a simmer.
While that's simmering, squeeze the lemons and strain out the seeds and lemon solids. Beat the eggs in a smallish bowl. Then beat in the lemon juice. Then, slowly at first, pour the two cups of hot stock you reserved into the eggs to temper them, beating them while you do (this keeps them from separating in the soup; if you make Hollandaise or Bearnaise sauce, this is a similar process). Once that's done, add the contents of the bowl to the cooking pot, stir to mix thoroughly, turn off the heat, and it's ready to serve.
I like it with crusty bread, but that's a lot of starch and (along with the rest of the recipe) not authentic.
It'll last a couple days in the fridge and quite a while in the freezer. When reheating it, don't let it boil: get it to just-barely-a-simmer. You don't want the eggs to separate.
I was introduced to this dish, which is the present-in-many-cultures chicken soup convalescent food. This version is cobbled together from several different internet sources and then some experimentation.
What follows is a slightly time-intensive, but not labor- or thought-intensive, rendition from someone who doesn't have the cultural background to know what this soup is supposed to be.
In short, your Greek grandmother will probably curse me if you ever make this and serve it to her.
Makes a little more than a half gallon.
8 to 10 cups of water
1 or 1-1/2 lbs of chicken (once the bones are removed)
2 lemons
3 or 4 medium-to-large eggs
1 onion
1 cup rice
1-2 tablespoons (yes, I said tablespoons) whole black peppercorns
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
4 cloves garlic
4-6 bay leaves
a little olive oil
salt
Peel and roughly chop the onion (into quarters or eighths). Put the onion chunks, the chicken, and the peppercorns into the water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for 45 minutes.
While it's doing that, chop the carrots and celery. Sautee the carrots, celery, and bay leaves in the olive oil for a few minutes, and then add the garlic. Turn the heat off quickly, so the garlic is sauteed but not caramelized. Leave the sauteed stuff on the stove for now.
After the 45-minute simmer is done, get the chicken out of the pot and put on a cutting board. Strain the stock, reserve two cups separately (with the rest back in the pot), and throw away the onion pieces and peppercorns.
Add the rice to the stock, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and let cook for 20 minutes.
Shred the chicken (with two forks, or your fingers).
After the 20-minute simmer is done, add the sauteed vegetables and chicken back to the pot. Salt to taste (I use maybe 2 teaspoons for the whole pot; other people like salt more than I do). Bring back to a simmer.
While that's simmering, squeeze the lemons and strain out the seeds and lemon solids. Beat the eggs in a smallish bowl. Then beat in the lemon juice. Then, slowly at first, pour the two cups of hot stock you reserved into the eggs to temper them, beating them while you do (this keeps them from separating in the soup; if you make Hollandaise or Bearnaise sauce, this is a similar process). Once that's done, add the contents of the bowl to the cooking pot, stir to mix thoroughly, turn off the heat, and it's ready to serve.
I like it with crusty bread, but that's a lot of starch and (along with the rest of the recipe) not authentic.
It'll last a couple days in the fridge and quite a while in the freezer. When reheating it, don't let it boil: get it to just-barely-a-simmer. You don't want the eggs to separate.
