Ingredients
- 1 chicken (1- 1.2 kg)
- 1 red onion, peeled
- 5 cups of water
- 150-200g short-grain rice, or aborio
- 2 large eggs
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 carrots (optional)
- salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- To prepare this traditional Greek lemon chicken soup, wash thoroughly the chicken and place in a deep pan. Push the chicken with your hands down to the bottom of the pan, add the onion, whole (and the carrot), pour in the water (the water should cover the chicken) and season. Place on high heat, put the lid on and bring to the boil; turn the heat down and boil the chicken for about 1 hour and 15 minutes (the chicken is ready, when the meat can be removed easily from the bones). While the chicken boils, some white foam will probably surface on the water. Remove that foam with a slotted spoon.
- Remove the chicken from the broth and strain the broth. Add the hot broth in a pan, add the rice and season with salt and pepper and boil, until done.
- In the meantime, if the chicken is cool enough to handle, pull the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Dice the meat into bites.
- To prepare the egg lemon sauce for this Greek lemon chicken soup, crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk, until foamy; add the lemon juice and whisk again. Add into the bowl a ladle of hot soup and whisk quickly. Add one more ladle and whisk again, so that the eggs get warm. Pour the egg mixture back into the pot, whilst constantly stirring, put the lid on and leave for 3-4 minutes.
- Serve this delicious Greek lemon chicken soup, while still warm; ladle into bowls, top with the diced chicken and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper or paprika. Enjoy!
(My Greek Dish, 2012)