Avgolemono (Greek Chicken Lemon Rice Soup)

One of the things I miss most about my hometown of Detroit is all the Coney Islands. No matter where you are in the Detroit area, you’re never more than a couple of miles from a Coney Island. Not to be confused with the area of Brooklyn, New York that was once known for its seaside amusement park, Detroit’s unique Coney Island restaurants are usually open 24 hours (great when you’re in college or your early 20s and out until the wee hours of the morning, and want to grab something to eat before you head home to crawl into bed for a couple hours of sleep), serve a decent breakfast any time of day or night, and of course, are known for their Coney Island hot dogs. A Coney dog is no ordinary chili dog, either – let’s be clear about that. Always a natural casing hot dog, usually kosher, a Coney is served topped with beanless chili, chopped onions, and mustard.

Most Coney Island restaurants also have a basic Greek menu – gyros, Pastitsio (a baked pasta made with macaroni, ground beef, and Béchamel sauce), Moussaka (a layered dish of eggplant, tomato sauce, ground beef, and Béchamel), Spanakopita (a layered pie made from spinach and feta sandwiched between layers of phyllo dough), and of course, Avgolemono, among other things.

I’ve had Avgolemono many times, so when I saw a recipe for it in Time for Dinner, my Cookbook of the Month, I knew I had to try making it at home.

As usual, I’ve modified this a bit to suit my own taste, and I encourage you to do the same. The recipe suggested using orzo pasta instead of rice, which I did (and liked – we love orzo around here), but cooked rice is traditional, and you may want to try that instead. I used more chicken stock than called for, as the orzo really soaks up a lot of liquid. If you use rice, you can reduce the stock to 4 cups. I used leftover roast chicken, but a rotisserie chicken or 2-3 poached chicken thighs would also work well. You can also go meatless (although the chicken broth is integral to the flavor, so this isn’t a soup I’d make vegetarian). Finally, I added some oregano, for additional Greek flair. I think it complements the lemon and chicken really well.

This goes excellently with a Greek salad (lettuce, tomato, thinly sliced onion, Greek olives, sliced beets, mild pepperoncini, feta cheese) and warm flatbread or pita bread on the side.

Note that it’s dairy-free (although not eggless) and if you make it with rice, it’ll be gluten-free as well.

6 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup uncooked orzo pasta or 1 cup cooked rice

3 eggs

Juice of one lemon (about 1/4 cup)

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon kosher or fine grain sea salt

freshly ground pepper

Shred or dice the chicken.

In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, bring the broth to a boil.

Add the orzo and cook about 7 minutes (until al dente), stirring frequently to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot. If using rice, skip this step and add the rice when you add the chicken.

While the pasta is cooking, in a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and lemon juice.

When the orzo is done, add about a cup of the hot broth to the egg mixture and whisk well.

Add the egg mixture to the pot, whisking until fully incorporated. The eggs will cook, and the soup will become thick and creamy.

Add the cooked chicken, oregano, salt, and pepper. Taste and add additional seasoning if needed.

Serves 6.

Here’s the printable recipe. Enjoy!