Hello everyone! As the cold weather dissipates it’s still nice to have a light comforting warm soup. I think this is one of my favourite soups. I believe my mother made a version of this Greek soup growing up. People don’t realize that Serbia is quite the melting pot of Mediterranean, middle Eastern and Germanic foods. It’s a good combination if you ask me. Regardless, I absolutely love this dish.
Two chicken carcasses waiting to be used with plenty of flavour…
Avgolemono is actually the name of a dairy-free, rich, egg and lemon sauce used for a variety of dishes. This is the soup version of it. I chose to share this recipe with you as it utilizes chicken carcasses. If you’re purchasing chicken carcasses from Ferme Reveuse, you yield the most incredible rich broth along with some bonus meat that can be gleaned off of it after it is cooked. Two birds with one stone - as they say.
Avgolemono
Serves 4 | Dairy-Free, Paleo
Broth and Chicken
1 pack of Ferme Reveuse chicken carcasses or two chicken carcasses, thawed completely and cut in half
1 carrot, trimmed and peeled
1 medium onion, trimmed
1 stalk celery
6 black peppercorns, whole
1 tsp dried thyme
4 sprigs parsley
1 bay leaf
Place all ingredients packed into a large pot and pack tightly. This ensures a rich broth.
Fill up with water until just covering. Bring up to a rolling simmer. Cover with a lid and simmer for 3 hrs.
Strain and allow cooked chicken carcass to cool. When it is able to be handled safely with your hands, remove any meat from the bones. Reserve broth and meat for soup. Discard the rest.
Avgolemono
6 cup chicken carcass stock (above)
1/4 cup jasmine rice
3 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
1 tbsp arrowroot starch or corn starch
2 lemons, juiced (about 75 ml) plus more for serving
kosher salt to taste
1 cup reserved chicken from chicken carcass (above)
1 tsp dried dill or 2 tbsp fresh chopped dill
Pour 6 cups chicken carcass broth into a pot. Stir in jasmine rice and bring up to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes or until the rice is very tender.
Meanwhile, whisk together egg yolks, whole eggs, starch and lemon juice.
When rice is tender, turn heat off of the soup. Set aside 1/2 cup of the hot broth. While whisking the egg mixture, pour the 1/2 cup reserved broth in slowly. This is tempering the eggs. Repeat with another 1/2 broth twice more.
Whisk the egg and broth mixture very slowly back into the main pot with the broth and rice mixture. The residual heat from the broth should thicken with the addition of the egg mixture. You may turn the heat on the pot very low if it needs to be thickened however if it comes up to a boil it will curdle and won’t be as luscious and tasty.
Stir in reserved chicken meat from the carcass along with the dill. Taste for seasoning adding salt if needed.
