Georgina Hayden’s Mama Socratous’s avgolemoni
Avgolemoni (or avgolemono) is a classic Greek soup that most families will have their own method for. This is my family’s recipe – specifically my mum and Yiayia Maroulla’s recipe – which is incredibly creamy, thanks to my mum’s brilliant method. The biggest difference between Grecian and Cypriot versions is that, in some cases, Greek-cypriots add ground cinnamon. I’d never even tried it without until recently, but I love the gentle spice and warmth that cinnamon adds. However, you can simply omit it from the method (or sprinkle it over at the end.)
As is the way with chicken broth soups, this is thought to be healing. There’s no denying that the velvety texture, warming spice and the vitamin C hit from the lemon makes it feel like a hug in a bowl. It’s something my mum always made when we were poorly. It’s such a comforting, homely soup.
If you don’t have time to make your own stock, you can skip that step and use ready-made, good-quality stock – it makes the whole thing a lot quicker.
Mama Socratous’ avgolemoni (Greek chicken, rice & lemon soup)
SERVES 6 8 PREP 10 mins plus 1 hr 30 mins cooling COOK 2 hrs EASY
1.6kg whole chicken
6 black peppercorns
2 onions, roughly chopped
2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
300g medium or long-grain rice
4 eggs
2 lemons, juiced, plus pared zest to serve (optional) ½ tsp ground cinnamon, plus an extra pinch to serve
1 Put the chicken in a large saucepan along with the peppercorns, onions, celery and carrots. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil over a high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hr, or until the chicken is tender and falling apart. Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely, about 1 hr 30 mins. Once fully cooled, remove the chicken to a board and shred the meat o the bones. (You can store the meat in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days, or add it back into the soup later.) Discard the carcass. Strain the stock, discarding any aromatics, and measure the liquid out into a jug – you’ll need around 2.5 litres.
2 Pour the stock back into the saucepan, season with salt and bring to the boil over a high heat. Stir in the rice, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 mins until the rice is soft. Remove from the heat. Meanwhile, crack the eggs into the bowl of a stand mixer and squeeze in most of the lemon juice, reserving the juice from about 1/2 lemon. Add the cinnamon and a generous pinch of black pepper, and whisk to combine. (If you don’t have a stand mixer, do this in a large bowl using an electric or balloon whisk.) With the motor running on a low speed, ladle in some of the hot stock (but no rice), whisking it into the eggs thoroughly until creamy. Repeat this process three more times, with the motor running continuously. Pour the egg and stock mixture back into the saucepan with the rice.
3 If you’re adding the shredded chicken to the soup, add it now. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3-4 mins, stirring continuously until you have a thick, creamy soup. (Stirring will help prevent the soup from catching or the egg from scrambling.) Taste and add the rest of the lemon juice, if you like. Serve straightaway, or leave to stand for 10 mins to thicken more, then sprinkle with extra cinnamon and pared lemon zest, if you like.
GOOD TO KNOW healthy • low cal • 1 of 5-a-day • gluten free
PER SERVING (8) 382 kcals • fat 15g • saturates 4g • carbs 30g • sugars 0.1g • ibre 0.7g • protein 30g • salt 0.4g