For the second week of the cycle I decided to try my hand at a couple of soups.

Joy of Cooking is of course a great resource for soups.

The first is an intriguing, yet easy to make, Greek Lemon Soup 😲. It’s basically chicken soup with rice mixed in with eggs to give it a smooth texture and with a generous dose of lemon juice.

My peoples are not big on soups, but I loved this and I’m looking to make it again, maybe in the summer - the lemon makes it very refreshing.

Recipe

Makes about 4 cups. Hands-on time: 5-10 minutes, Total time: 25-30 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups chicken stock of broth
• 1/2 cups of long-grain rice
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice for seasoning (optional)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or dill for seasoning (optional)

Preparation:

Unlike stracciatella, where the eggs are supposed to separate, here the eggs are blended to create a smooth, creamy texture. This is done by adding a little of the hot stock to the eggs before they are added to the soup to prevent them from curdling.

Bring to a rolling boil in a medium saucepan,:

• 3 cups chicken stock (or chicken broth)
• 1/2 cup long-grain rice

Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk just enough to combine and be uniform in color:

• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Stir 2 tablespoons of the hot stock into the egg mixture.

To prevent curdling, gradually pour the egg mixture into *the hot, not boiling, soup while stirring constantly. Season with:

• 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (optional)

Salt and ground black pepper to taste.

Ladle into warmed bowls.
Garnish with chopped fresh parsley or snipped fresh dill.

Note: a typical container of broth has 4 cups; I would suggest adjusting the recipe to use a full container.

I used:

• 4 cups broth
• 3/4 cups rice
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup lemon juice

The procedure remains the same and the garnish is “to taste” anyway.