Avgolemono Soup with tomato, cucumber, feta salad
Avgolemono soup is a lemony Greek soup that is the perfect spring treat. Whisked egg makes it a creamy treat without the cream! The classic features chicken and orzo but we also add peas. Our paleo and veggie options add spring asparagus and the veggie option uses edamame for your protein.
Ingredients
- Orzo - 1/2 lb
- Rotisserie chicken - 1/2, shredded
- Onions - 1, diced
- Parsley - 1/4 bunch, chopped
- Eggs - 3
- Lemon juice - 3 Tbsp
- Cooking oil - 1 Tbsp
- Chicken stock - 3 cups
- Peas - 2 cups
- Parsley - 1/4 bunch, chopped
- Shallots - 1 Tbsp, minced
- Tomatoes - 1 lb, chopped
- Cucumbers - 1/2 lb, chopped
- Dijon mustard - 1 tsp
- Red wine vinegar - 1 1/2 Tbsp
- Olive oil - 3 Tbsp
- Feta - 2 oz, crumbled
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Orzo - Double if making tomorrow night’s dinner. Bring a saucepan of water to boil. Salt generously (that water should taste like the ocean!) and add orzo. Cook according to package instructions. (Can be done up to 4 days ahead)
- Rotisserie chicken - If not prepped from yesterday, take meat off the bone and shred with a knife and fork or just hands. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
- Onions / Parsley (for soup and salad) - Prep as directed. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
- Shallots / Tomatoes / Cucumbers - Prep as directed.
Make
- Whisk together shallots, Dijon, vinegar, and olive oil. Set aside.
- Next whisk eggs with lemon juice in a bowl.
- Preheat Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil and then onions to heated oil. Saute until softened, ~3 minutes.
- Add in chicken and stock. Bring to a boil. Add in peas and then simmer. Spoon out ~1 cup (236 ml) of the stock.
- Now, you’ll need some technique here to temper the egg mixture (this means gently heating eggs first so they don’t curdle when added to something hotter). While rigorously whisking egg and lemon juice, pour in the warm stock you separated out. If the eggs curdle (cook) a bit, no worries. Otherwise, you should have a creamy mixture.
- Pour the tempered egg mixture into the soup along with orzo. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes and then season to taste with salt, pepper, or more lemon juice.
- Toss vinaigrette with tomatoes, cucumbers, and parsley. Crumble feta over salad. Garnish soup with parsley.
- Don't forget to snap your photos this week and upload them to Instagram with #SpringIntoDinner & @cooksmarts tags to win great prizes (like a $200 Amazon gift card!). Details here.
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Reviews
This meal has 24 reviews
I wanted to love this, but something was just off. I added more lemon juice as others suggested, but it was still a little bland. Also upped the chicken stock and put in less orzo, but it was still very thick. I wanted more lemony- brothiness. My husband gives it 3 stars, my son and I give it 2.
The only thing was the second day it turned into a creamy pasta because the orzo soaked up all the broth. I wonder if I could save the orzo out next time?
I liked the flavors of the soup (sort of a chicken noodle egg drop), but apparently did not temper my eggs well enough -- they were creamy when I whisked in the cup of broth, but curdled into egg bits when I added it to the pot. Maybe I should add a bit more broth to the eggs before combining in the pot so that they are closer in temperature. Added about 5-6 tbsp of lemon juice and still didn't get much of a lemony flavor. Next time I might squeeze a whole lemon in there!
I only made the soup portion of this, and it was really good! Be generous with the lemon and salt and pepper, I like it really lemony. Leftovers turned into a kind of a risotto but it was also delicious.
Not flavorful enough for our house.
Really good! Super thick though - would maybe use less orzo next time and ended up adding more lemon juice. Delish!