Best Yia Yias Avgolemono Recipes

Yia-yia's Avgolemono image

Provided by Melanie Wilke

Categories Greek

Time 30m

Yield 6 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 4

3 large eggs
1 cup orzo pasta (these are small pasta noodles that look like rice)
1 (32 ounce) can chicken broth (use a smaller or larger can depending on how soupy you want it - I usually use use about 45 oz.)
1 lemon

Steps:

Bring the chicken broth to a boil.
Add the orzo noodles to the broth and cook, covered, on a very low boil, until the noodles are al dente- it should take 8-12 minutes, roughly.
While the orzo is cooking, separate the whites from yolks, and put the whites in a very large mixing bowl.
Beat the whites until they're as fluffy as you can get them.
Add almost all of the juice from the lemon (keep a little left over in a small bowl- people will use this later for adjusting the taste of their own soup).
Beat the egg-lemon mixture again, get it very fluffy.
Add the yolks, and beat.
When the orzo noodles are done, remove the pot from the heat.
Add one ladleful of broth (avoid the noodles) to the egg-lemon mixture, and beat until fluffy.
Continue, one ladle at a time, until you can't get any broth out of the pot.
Pour the contents of the bowl back into the pot, and cook it slightly below a boil for just a few minutes.
DO NOT allow it to boil- the eggs will cook too much and you will get a grainy white residue in your soup.
Serve immediately with thick bread and offer the extra lemon juice to anyone who would like their soup to be more citrusy.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 168.5, Fat 3.8, SaturatedFat 1.1, Cholesterol 93, Sodium 535.1, Carbohydrate 22.6, Fiber 1.2, Sugar 1.6, Protein 10.2

Yia Yia Chicken Avgolemono Soup image

Provided by Food Network

Categories main-dish

Time 1h35m

Yield 10 to 12 servings

Number Of Ingredients 11

5 ribs celery, cut in half lengthwise
3 medium carrots, cut in half lengthwise
2 medium onions, quartered
3 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 small chicken (between 3 and 4 pounds), halved
1 1/2 cups long grain rice, such as Uncle Ben's
10 egg whites
2 egg yolks
5 lemons, squeezed
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Steps:

In a large stock pot, bring 10 cups water, celery, carrots, onions, chicken, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-high and simmer until the vegetables are soft and the chicken is cooked, 45 minutes to an hour. Strain the vegetables and chicken, making sure to reserve all liquids.
Put back all the original liquids into the stock pot, plus 3 more cups water and the rice. Bring to a boil, and then lower the heat to medium.
Meanwhile, remove the meat from the chicken, shred and put to the side. Put the vegetables in a blender and puree, and put to the side. Put the egg whites in the blender and beat on high for 2 minutes. Add the yolks, lemon juice and cornstarch.
When the rice is almost completely cooked, add the veggie puree, shredded chicken and the remaining salt and pepper. Take off the heat. Temper the egg mixture by adding about 1 cup hot soup to the blender while blending on low, making sure not to scramble the eggs! Slowly add the egg mixture to the pot, stirring constantly. Taste for salt and pepper.