This soup has been a staple in our homes for quite some time. We love this Greek lemon soup because it is simple to make, has a ton of flavor, and has become a comfort food for us, especially in the winter. We like to serve this as a starter or alongside pitas and Greek salad. If you are looking to serve it as an entree, this recipe can feed 2-3 large sized portions.

The creaminess of the soup comes from tempering eggs into the broth. The technique of tempering is to dilute the eggs with warm broth, gradually raising the temperature, so that the eggs integrate with the broth and don’t curdle. If you still aren’t sure what we mean, the result of incorrectly tempering is egg drop soup. Fun fact – this technique took us a little bit of time to master. We have had many a night where our Avgo soup has floating egg whites and we still love it anyway! We will walk you through it in detail below but don’t be afraid if you don’t nail it on your first try. A little cooked egg never hurt anyone. 

Avgolemono Soup
Makes: 4 servings 
Total Time: minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 pound orzo 
• 8 cups water + 3 bouillon cubes (we used Bou)*
• 3 lemons, juiced 
• 2 eggs
• dill 
• salt and pepper to taste 

*Bou’s serving size is 1 cube per 2 cups of water. We like to add about 1/4 less bouillon than  suggested so that the soup isn’t over salted and season with salt and pepper at the end. 

Directions: 

1. In a small pot, cook the orzo per the package instructions, al dente. We like to cook the orzo outside of the soup so that the orzo does not over cook if we don’t serve the soup right away. 
2. While the orzo is cooking, put the water and bouillon in a large soup bot and bring to a boil. Stir until the bouillon is completely dissolved in the water. Add the lemon juice and bring the soup to a simmer.
3. Temper the eggs. Start by scrambling the eggs in a bowl. While continuing to stir the eggs, use a ladle to add a bit of the broth to the bowl. Keep stirring until the broth is combined and repeat the process once more (stir, add broth, stir). After the second edition of broth, you are going to repeat the process but incorporate the eggs into your soup pot. Stir the soup and gently pour in your egg mixture. Voila! You now have a rich, creamy broth.
4. Serve by adding 1 cup of orzo to a bowl and topping with the broth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with fresh dill.