Avgolemono Greek Chicken Soup

Avgolemono Greek Chicken Soup

The other day I saw Trisha Yearwood make some delicious looking Lemony Chicken Orzo soup on her cooking show on TV.  The soup recipe can be found HERE.   I had nearly all the ingredients on hand so I got a few more items at the store so I could make the soup.  Some where along the line, I switched gears; I wanted to add egg to the soup like I had seen in other recipes.  I found another recipe for a Greek Chicken Soup called "Avgolemono" which can be found HERE.  I ended up combining ideas from both recipes and made up my own recipe.  The results are good.  I cook a lot and make a lot of soup, but I really don't make a lot of chicken soup.  The addition of fresh lemon juice makes this soup light and refreshing.  I like how the addition of egg to the soup changes the look of the broth from clear to opaque.  I used a store bought rotisserie chicken in this recipe which made this soup relatively quick and easy to throw together.

Avgolemono:

noun, Greek Cookery.                

a soup or sauce made with beaten eggs, lemon juice, and usually chicken broth.

Avgolemono Greek Chicken Soup

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 3/4 to 2 cups carrots, chopped
1 3/4 to 2 cups celery, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup water

about 16 ounces cooked boneless chicken breasts, shredded (store-bought rotisserie chicken or leftover cooked chicken breast will work)

1/3 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice

2 large eggs

approximately 4 ounces fresh baby spinach (4 big handfuls of spinach)

Instructions

1. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add the carrots, celery and onions, and saute for about five minutes or until starting to soften.
3. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two.
4. Add the chicken broth and water, raise the heat to high, and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
6. Stir in the cooked chicken.
7. Prepare the egg-lemon sauce by whisking together the lemon juice and eggs. While whisking the soup with a fork, slowly drizzle in the egg-lemon sauce.  Once fully combined, add the spinach to the soup.  Stir the spinach into the soup and it will wilt quickly.  

Enjoy!