# Chicken and Garlic Soup **Chef:** Sahil **Cookbook:** Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat **Potluck Date:** 18 November 2023 --- **Serves:** 4–6 **Time:** .) Chicken soup with avgolemono Every culture around the world has a restorative chicken soup. For Greeks it is kotosoupa avgolemono. I cannot think of a more comforting dish than this one. The creaminess here is due to the rice, which should be rich in starch, and the egg and lemon sauce, avgolemono, which also gives it a nice velvety texture. It is a soup enjoyed in Greece throughout winter, and my grandmother Rena, who was a master of this soup, always made it on New Year’s Day. It is traditionally served as a thick broth with the rice in it, with the left-over boiled chicken often used for a chicken pie. I like to also add carrot and courgette (zucchini) for flavour and texture, but you can play around with different vegetables. I always buy a high-quality chicken, preferably organic or free-range: they have less fat and are full of flavour. Wash the chicken well, pat dry and set aside. (Keep the giblets for another Place a large, heavy pan over a medium-high heat. ## Ingredients - 1 x 1.8–2kg (4–4½lb) chicken, cut into 6 pieces - 1 tbsp olive oil - 1 large onion, peeled and halved - 1 small leek, roughly chopped - 2 garlic cloves, peeled - 1 large celery stick, trimmed and roughly chopped - 2 bay leaves - 6 black peppercorns - 3–4 sprigs of thyme - 1 small tomato - 80ml (3fl oz) dry white wine - 1.5 litres (56fl oz) hot water - 2 large carrots, diced - 120g (4oz) medium-grain white rice, such as glacé (glutinous) - 2 small courgettes (zucchini), diced - 2 eggs, at room temperature - Finely grated zest of 1 small lemon and juice of 2 - Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper - 1 tbsp chopped spring onions (scallions), including the green part (optional), to serve ## Method 1. Add the olive oil and gently sauté the onion, leek, garlic, celery, bay leaves, peppercorns and thyme for about 8 minutes, stirring, until softened. 2. Add the chicken, turning the pieces until slightly browned all over. 3. Add the tomato (whole) and pour in the wine. 4. Season with salt and pour in the water. 5. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 50–60 minutes until the chicken is thoroughly cooked. 6. Transfer the chicken to a platter and let it cool. 7. Remove the skin and bones, then shred or cut the meat into small pieces. 8. Strain the broth and pour it back into the pot. Return it to the stovetop, turn the heat up to medium-high and adjust the salt if necessary. 9. Add the carrots and bring to the boil. 10. When it starts boiling, reduce the heat to medium and add the rice. 11. Let it boil for 10 minutes, then finally add the courgettes. 12. Boil for another 10 minutes until the veggies and rice are cooked. 13. Remove the pan from the heat. Ladle about 200ml (7fl oz) of broth through a sieve into a jug (pitcher) and set aside. Separate the eggs into two bowls. 14. Beat the yolks with the lemon zest and juice. 15. Whisk the egg whites into a light meringue (not too stiff). Gradually whisk the egg yolks into the whites until incorporated (don’t over-whisk). 16. Carefully and gradually add small amounts of the strained hot soup to the egg and lemon sauce, whisking constantly. The sauce should look nice and frothy. 17. Once the soup is all incorporated, pour the mixture into the pot and stir gently. 18. Serve the soup with shredded chicken and spring onions (scallions), if desired, and a grind of black pepper. 19. Yiouvarlakia, hearty meatball soup This is one of my favourite Greek comfort dishes. It’s popular all over the country and is most commonly prepared with egg and lemon sauce, like this one, or – often during summer – in a tomato-based broth. It was a dish prepared by Greeks settled in Asia Minor who popularized it in Greece in the early 1920s, along with several other recipes that greatly shaped what is called the Urban Athenian Cuisine. What makes the Greek version different to others is the use of egg and lemon sauce, and the herbs or spices. In parts of northern Greece and particularly in Naoussa (a famous wine region), this dish is also known as koukoulia (which means cocoons). Yiouvarlakia is usually prepared with plain minced (ground) beef or a combination of half beef, half pork. The sauce here works both as a flavour enhancer and as a thickener for the broth, giving the soup a lovely creamy consistency. Good bread is essential when serving this dish – trust me. --- *Downloaded from BCBCBath Cookbook Club* *https://bcbcbath.com*