[recipe] Avgolemono Soup

Last week I started up Soup Sundays again.  I made delicious Sausage Lentil soup.  This past Sunday I made an Avgolemono which is a Greek soup that has Lemon, Chicken and Rice.  I got my recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart.  It was the cover soup for the January 2013 magazine.  I was so excited to find a recipe for it because this is one of my favorite kinds of soup.  I remember getting it at this cute Greek restaurant on "The Ave" in Seattle in the U-District.

  (maybe not the best picture...but at least its mine!)

For the Spatchcocked Chicken:

  

Ingredients

• 1 whole 4-pound chicken
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 lemons, thinly sliced, divided
• 6 small shallots (6 ounces), peeled and quartered lengthwise

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place chicken, breast side down, on a work surface. Starting at thigh end, cut along 1 side of backbone with kitchen shears. Turn chicken around; cut along other side. Discard backbone or save for stock. Flip chicken, and open it like a book. Press firmly on breastbone to flatten.
   
2. Rub chicken with 1 tablespoon oil, and season with 1 tablespoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Brush 1 tablespoon oil in the center of a rimmed baking sheet slightly larger than the size of the chicken, and place half the lemon slices in a single layer on top of oil. Place chicken, skin side up, on lemons. Beginning at the neck end of breast, carefully loosen skin from flesh of breast and thighs with your fingers. Slide remaining lemon slices under skin in a single layer.
   
3. Roast chicken 20 minutes. Toss shallots with remaining teaspoon oil, and scatter around chicken. Continue to roast chicken until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast reaches 165 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes more.
   
4. Transfer chicken to a carving board, and let rest 10 minutes. Cut chicken into 8 pieces, and serve with roasted lemons, shallots, and pan juices. If using chicken for soup and salad, let chicken cool completely. Remove and discard skin, lemon under skin, and bones, and shred meat into bite-size pieces. Chicken, roasted lemons, shallots, and pan juices can be refrigerated up to 2 days. Store meat and pan juices in separate containers; lemons and shallots can be stored together.
   

 

For the Soup:

**Note: For a thicker, richer broth that's more in the style of Avgolemono soup, simply whisk together two large egg yolks and the juice of one lemon. Stir the mixture into the soup just before serving.**

Ingredients

• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 2 cups shredded chicken from Roast Spatchcocked Lemon Chicken
• Roast lemons, shallots, and pan juices from Roast Spatchcocked Lemon Chicken
• Coarsely chopped fresh dill, for garnish

Directions

1. Bring rice, water, lemon zest, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir once, reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer until rice is cooked and water evaporates, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork.
   
2. Bring stock to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in rice, chicken, lemons, shallots, and pan juices, and simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper.
   
3. Divide soup among 4 to 6 bowls, and season with lemon juice and dill.
   
   
   
   
   Hope you enjoy this soup as much as I do!!
   
   
   Linked to: What I Whipped Up Wednesdays  and Tasty Tuesdays
   
   
   
   
   ♥ Ashley