Youvarlakia Avgolemono Soup
This Greek Lemon Meatball Soup is a Greek egg and lemon mixture (Avgolemono) that’s tangy and silky, and used to thicken sauces and soups. This recipe is a riff on a more traditional Avgolemono soup. Ground chicken, rice, carrots and herbs are rolled into meatballs, then simmered in the broth. This is a comforting soup that is both hearty and healthy.
Many years ago, there was a local restaurant that served a Greek Lemon Soup, that still sticks in my memory for it’s hearty and delicious flavor. I recall the soup had chicken and rice, with a creamy and lemony broth. Alas, that restaurant is long gone. I’ve always wanted to try replicating that recipe, and I shall!
I stumbled across this recipe that was a little different. For one, instead of cooked chicken and rice (or Orzo pasta), the recipe makes ground chicken meatballs. I’m in!
Ground chicken breast can be tricky, at times. That is, it needs a good balance of herbs and spices so that it’s not bland. I added grated onion, grated carrot, minced garlic, fresh dill, lemon zest, rice and salt & pepper.
Gently combine the mixture, and make 24 meatballs. It’s ideal to refrigerate these for at least 20 minutes, or up to 24 hours. That gave me plenty of time to tidy up the kitchen and relax until dinner time.
I like to make my own chicken broth, but I always keep a few boxes of low-sodium chicken broth in my pantry. (That’s what I used for this soup.) Bring the broth to a boil…
Using a slotted spoon (or “spider” in my case), gently add the meatballs into the pot.
Lower the broth to a gentle simmer, and allow the meatballs to cook for about 25 minutes (you can remove one to test– but I didn’t do that).
While the meatballs are cooking, whisk two room temperature eggs with 1/3 cup of fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons). (I decided to remove all of the cooked meatballs, because I didn’t want to risk breaking them apart while added the egg-lemon mixture.) The rice had plumped up and was cooked. Whew!
It’s important to temper the egg-lemon mixture, before adding it into the soup– otherwise, you’ll end up with scrambled eggs. Do this buy adding one ladle of hot broth while whisking together. Done!
The tempered egg-lemon mixture is whisked into the hot broth. Personally, I like a slightly thicker broth. In a bowl, I measured out one tablespoon of potato starch and whisked a ladle full of the broth, until smooth. There! I got the consistency that I like. I added the meatballs back into the broth.
To garnish the soup, you can add freshly grated nutmeg. I opted not to do that. I added a bit more dill, but not a lot (my husband swears he doesn’t like dill).
TASTING NOTES: Oh, how I love the flavor of lemon! This soup delivers. Could I taste egg? Nope. The meatballs and the rice were cooked, and really hot! Whoa! Once my tongue cooled off, I found the meatballs to be flavorful. Note to self: I love the combo of ground beef and lamb, and I think this would be a delicious variation. I watched my husband enjoy the soup– then I enlightened him that there was dill in the meatballs and the broth. Gotcha! He liked it! Yes, dill can be a very strong herb, but it’s a flavor that I really love. I think I’ve converted my husband. One more thing, this soup is not recommended for freezing, because of the egg. That’s okay. There weren’t any leftovers!
Youvarlakia Avgolemono (Lemony Greek Meatball Soup)
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound ground chicken or ground turkey or beef, very cold
- ¾ cup chopped fresh dill or parsley plus more for garnish
- ½ cup yellow onion grated; from about 1 small onion; don't chop!
- ¼ cup carrot grated; from about 1 carrot
- ¼ cup uncooked long-grain rice such as basmati or Carolina, well rinsed and drained
- 1 garlic clove finely grated, pushed through a garlic press, or minced
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt plus more as needed
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more as needed
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest finely grated l
For the soup:
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice from about 2 lemons
- 1 tbsp potato starch optional; I used this to thicken the broth to my liking
- Freshly grated nutmeg for serving (optional)
Instructions
For the meatballs:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ground chicken, 1/4 cup dill, onion, carrot, rice, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon zest. Gently mix with your hands until well combined.
- Gently form the mixture into 24 meatballs, each about 1 1/4 inches in diameter, placing them on a plate or baking pan. Cover and chill for at least 20 minutes or up to 24 hours. (This helps the meatballs keep their shape while cooking.)
Soup:
- In a large pot, bring stock to a boil over high heat. Reduce to medium and use a slotted spoon to carefully add meatballs to the pot. The broth should cover the tops of the meatballs by about 1/2 inch. If not, add a little water. Simmer gently, adjusting the heat so the broth doesn’t boil, until meatballs are cooked through and rice is tender, 25 to 35 minutes. (Break open a meatball to test it.) Remove pot from heat.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and lemon juice until just mixed. Slowly add a ladle of warm broth to egg-lemon mixture, whisking constantly. Whisk in another two ladles of broth to temper the egg mixture.
- Slowly drizzle the egg-lemon mixture back into the pot with the meatballs, stirring gently so you don’t break apart the meatballs. NOTE: I chose to gently remove the cooked meatballs, to add the egg-lemon mixture to the broth. I found this easier to whisk and thicken the brother. I then returned the meatballs, once the broth had thickened to my liking.
- Return the pot to medium-low heat until it just starts to simmer. (Wait for a bubble or two to appear, but don’t let the pot boil.) The broth should be silky. NOTE: I wanted a slightly thicker broth. I used 1 Tbsp. potato starch and whisked in 1 ladle of the broth. Perfect!
- Remove from heat, stir in remaining 1/2 cup dill. Taste and add salt and pepper, if needed. (It may need quite a bit of salt if you are starting with unsalted broth.) Garnish with nutmeg, if you like, and dill, and serve.
Notes
I love soups! This Greek style soup is both comforting and soulful.
Thank you for visiting my blog, Velva. Yes, indeed, this is a comforting and healthy soup.