Avgolemono (Greek Lemon-Egg Soup)

Waking up to the sound of rain on the window makes mornings that much harder. I think I see a 150% increase in the number of times I hit the snooze button if it’s raining outside. On the other hand, when it’s snowing, I jump up to look outside my window at the peaceful white blanket on the world. Navigating the sidewalks outside has been a nightmare the last few days. First snow, then a thick layer of ice, then 1-2 inches of water on top of the ice layer. On my long walk home from campus, all I could think about was a bowl of soup. One that wouldn’t take too long, but would leave me satisfied through a long Sunday night of homework.

This Greek lemon-egg soup brings all of the comfort of a rich and creamy winter soup with a bright pop of lemony sunshine that reminds me of warmer days! It starts off as a simple chicken soup… you know, carrots, celery, onion, chicken, rice and broth. All the good stuff that makes your kitchen smell wonderful. Then, adding the lemon-egg mixture at the end suddenly transforms the soup into this luscious, silky broth packed with flavor. I thought half a lemon would never be enough to flavor the entire pot, so I could hardly believe the flavor of that first bite. I still couldn’t get over it after the third bowl.

I added some extra veggies, which may deviate from the traditional greek lemon-egg soup recipe, but I was looking to pump up the nutritional value of the dish. You could certainly make the dish without, but I think that they add a more complex flavor profile to the chicken broth. Also, this recipe could be easily doubled to serve 4 (or to put some in the fridge for leftovers). Kali orexi! (That’s bon apetit in Greek.)