greek avgolemono(egg/lemon) soup

[niki]

greeks don't eat cream soups with butter and cream...this is the way they make them..instead of rice,i used cannelini beans..and added carrots and celery...i cooked one of the turkeys i had in my freezer the night before......... so i used turkey instead of chicken....    
         1 quart homemade chicken stock(or 3 cans chicken broth)         
         1 pound carrots(cleaned and sliced)
         5-6 stalks of celery
         2 cans of cannelini beans(rinsed and drained) or 1 lb dried beans         
         2 eggs
         4 tbsp lemon juice
        1-2 cups cooked japonica brown rice
         1- 1 1/2 lbs, cooked chicken breast(chopped in small pieces)
cook the carrots,celery and beans in water...use as little water as you need to use....when cooked,add chicken stock...add chicken bouillon to taste..add chopped chicken..simmer for 10 minutes to blend the flavors...turn off the heat..
  beat eggs with an electric mixer or braun hand mixer...once the eggs have changed color,slowly add the lemon juice.....once that is nicely blended(a creamy consistency)remove the mixer and use a wire wisk...constantly wisk while you SLOWLY add broth from the soup....use a nice size bowl,slowly pouring about half the broth from the soup in...when the bowl is full,pour it back slowly, stiring constantly, into the pot...simmer on VERY low heat until thoroughly heated...this can't be heated on high or heated any longer than it takes to warm it..it'll curdle and then you'll have egg drop soup(still good).....if you know how you like avgolemomo soup and like it creamier with more lemon,you could add another egg with 2 tbsp of lemon juice.....................enjoy.............niki

[Queenie]

I LOVE this soup, Niki - I can't wait to try your version of it!

Carolyn

[niki]

if you like avgolemono,you'll love this....the cannelini beans are a good substitute for the rice....you don't have to use carrots or celery..you could use less chicken...and the cream soup consistency is exactly the same as regular.....it's the real thing.......niki

[smackeythefrog]

YUM!  I haven't had soupa avgolemono since fifth grade. I loved it so much. I never figured out why my mom never made it again. I am going to have to try this LDL version. I wish I knew someplace where I could get a whole lamb so I can make magiritsa. I've always wanted to try it.

[niki]

mary...you can NOT POSSIBLY be telling me that you've never eaten this?.....NOW i'm shocked....someone mentions the most bizarre root or strange vegetable and i have NO idea what it is....YOU always do......i'm shaken...you're my ultimate resource person when it comes to food(and IN CASE anyone thinks i'm kidding,i'm totally serious)..........
  well, i'll be REALLY surprised if you don't like it....like i said,this really wasn't modified for let's do lunch....this is the way greeks eat it....i don't think what's in the soup is a big deal...instead of rice,cannelini beans....but the broth made into a lemony cream soup is exactly the same as the real thing.............
  you know what?....i probably didn't really think about it because i guess i really prefer tomato sauce based soups.......so it took this long for me to look for a change....ONE YEAR...says a LOT for the variety we have on let's do lunch................glad you're back,dear friend...YOU KNOW you'll be able to go back before you know it to set up the ranch(kay made the motion,i seconded it and tom agreed since there are no crocks)......................love you,niki 

[mildred]

could you sent me this recipes?
hietjones@mikrotec.com

THANK MILDRED

[niki]

hi mildred...if you click right above a post to where you see the name of the topic,in this case "avgolemono soup" you'll see the recipe........hope you enjoy it......niki

[DEBBIEWEBE]

Niki,
I love this soup.  I used to eat it everyday at the greek restaurant next to the beauty school I went to 25 years ago.  Isnt there a version where they put the greek meatballs in this as well?  Yummmmmmmmmmmmm this is great that it can be made without all the cornstarch and butter.  I cant wait to try this.  I might even make half the batch with a small amount of wild rice and turkey meatballs in it.  When you mentioned it the other night I had no idea this was what you were talking about.  I just ate it....I didnt know the formal name.  I think they used to just call it lemon drop soup or something like that? Cant quite remember for sure.
Love and God Bless
Debbie

[EnJae]

mildred;

I emailed a copy of this to you...

NJ

[niki]

mildred;
I emailed a copy of this to you...
NJ

  nj..did i misunderstand?....i thought mildred was asking this because she couldn't understand how to find the recipe....niki 

[niki]

Isnt there a version where they put the greek meatballs in this as well?..Debbie

  yes there is....i'm going to work on that next...the thing is that the meatballs REALLY need to have rice in them and i don't know if i can bring myself to eat rice....my mother also used to put some rice in the broth as well as in the meatballs....and they're supposed to be really little meatballs....not the hefty ones i put in meatball lentil soup..i would suggest only using celery if you make it with meatballs and chop the celery REALLY fine so that it kind of becomes part of the broth.......and you drop the meatballs in the broth to cook them....let me know what you do and how it comes out................niki

[EnJae]

"nj..did i misunderstand?....i thought mildred was asking this because she couldn't understand how to find the recipe....niki "

I don't know what the case was niki, I just assumed she didn't know how to print it from the boards but could print it from her email.  (?)  At any rate, I don't think she got my email; I got a message saying it had bounced and was undeliverable. I haven't heard from her since.

Mildred, you out there?

NJ

[DEBBIEWEBE]

I will not experiment with this Niki, I will wait for your tried and true version before attempting!!!
Deb

[niki]

hi guys....i made this today and it came out GREAT....i used asparagus i had in the freezer instead of carrots and celery and it was a nice change....i can't edit the original recipe, so i want to say that depending on how much soup you're making, you'll have to add more eggs....with the amount i just made, i used 5 eggs...and i had fresh limes in the fridge that i used instead of lemons...with the 5 eggs, i used 2 average size limes...i would say if you have a nice amount of soup, you should probably start out with 3 eggs and a whole lemon...then i would taste it and keep the bowl for the eggs handy so you can beat another egg or two..it should taste creamy and lemony.....niki

[LittlePrincess]

niki,

I have a question.  My sister discovered a soup called "greek wedding soup".  Are you familiar with this?  We had it in California several times before she passed away.  I was wondering if there is an LDL friendly version of this? 

(In Faith)  Little Princess

[niki]

princess, i thought wedding soup was italian....i'll look online and get back to you...there could be something i ate all my life but didn't know it by a particular name.......the special soups that greeks make are really for resurrection sunday(pasca is what we call it and it means "passover"in greek)................niki 

[niki]

so guess what traditional greek wedding soup is.........it's THIS soup.....soupa avgolemono...see, i've learned something new...i never knew this was also called greek wedding soup......it's supposed to be chicken and rice..i substituted white cannelini beans for the rice and added carrots and celery.....but the broth is exactly as it is supposed to be...that part is the real thing......that's one thing i like about it..that it's the real thing.......and, i like a bean soup that's not a tomato base for a change because most of the soups i make are tomato based.....i love all the soups i make, but it's nice for a change......the lentil soup i make the way greeks make it has just a little tomato sauce in it...it stays brown...and the pot roast soup..that doesn't have any tomato sauce in it...   
  try this...you'll like it..............niki     

[LittlePrincess]

Well good grief!  LOL    Thanks niki!!


(In Faith)  Little Princess