Avgolemeno Soup
recipe by shereen pavlides
I cook the components in this soup separately, as seen in the video to ensure a bold, flavorful stock and a perfectly cooked, juicy and tender chicken. But for ease of preparation, I've also included an alternate way of cooking the chicken and preparing the stock, below in the recipe description.
Freeze leftover soup in clear, plastic quart-sized containers with tight fitted lids. Thaw and re-warm when ready to eat.
for the chicken:
1 (4 pound) organic roasting chicken
3 tablespoons canola oil
kosher salt / freshly ground black pepper
1 spanish onion - peeled, quartered
1 large lemon - cut into wedges
1 large bunch fresh thyme
for the chicken stock:
1 whole chicken carcass
4 - 5 celery stalks
4 carrots - peeled
1 large onion
1/2 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 small bunch fresh thyme sprigs
1 small bunch Italian parsley with stems
for the soup:
1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
4 large eggs - room temperature
1/2 cup freshly squeezed large lemons (about 3)
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
how to roast the chicken:
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place chicken in a 9 x 12-inch pyrex glass or Le Creuset (non porous stoneware) baking pan. Remove chicken neck, giblets and discard. Drizzle the oil all over the chicken. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with onions, lemons and herbs. Tie the legs together with butchers twine and tuck the wing tips under the chicken.
Roast the chicken until golden brown, cooked through and internal temperature reads 160 degrees F., 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove to a platter to rest until cool enough to handle, 15 - 20 minutes. Remove butchers twine and discard. Shred or chop the meat. Save the chicken carcass. {Meat yields: about 3 1/2 cups}.
{Prep ahead Tip: You can roast the chicken up to 2 days ahead, remove the meat, cover and refrigerate. Save the chicken carcass for the stock}.
how to make the chicken stock:
Add chicken carcass into an 8-quart pressure cooker insert pot. Chop the celery, carrots and onions, so they easily fit into the pot. Toss into the pot, along with the remaining ingredients. Pour 12 cups cold water into the pot, but DO NOT exceed the 2/3 line inside the pot.
Pressure cook on HIGH for 1 1/2 hours. Use natural release. Strain and drain the stock into a large bowl. {Yields about, 12 - 14 cups stock}. Season liberally with kosher salt to taste.
Alternately: Use an 8-quart stock pot over high heat until the water comes to a boil. Reduce to simmer. Cover. Simmer for 4 hours, periodically skimming the foam from the surface, as needed.
If desired, you can omit roasting the chicken and add the whole chicken into the stock pot while making the flavorful stock. Remove the chicken after it's been cooked through, about 1 hour. When it's cool enough to handle, remove the meat. Set the meat aside. Toss the chicken carcass back into the pot and continue simmering, building the flavor for the stock, about 3 hours. Drain and strain, reserving the stock. Season liberally with kosher salt to taste. Finish recipe as below.
{View video below on How to make Stock in a Stock Pot}
how to make the soup:
Bring the stock to a boil over high heat in a 6-quart pot. Add rice. Stir. Reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook until rice is tender, 10 - 12 minutes.
Whisk eggs into a medium bowl. Slowly drizzle 2 - 3 ladles of hot broth, working a little at a time, into the bowl with the eggs while constantly whisking. Pour tempered eggs into the pot with the rice. Whisk constantly until well combined. Simmer until the eggs have slightly thickened the soup, 5 - 8 minutes, whisking periodically.
Remove from the heat. Stir in about 3 1/2 cups shredded chicken and the lemon juice until warmed through. Season with kosher salt to taste.
Divide among bowls, season with black pepper and garnish with parsley.
prep: 12 minutes
roast & pressure cook: 1 hour 30 minutes
cook: 25 minutes
serves: 8 - 10