Kotosoupa avgolemono – Greek chicken and lemon soup Recipe
Kotosoupa avgolemono is a warming Greek soup with chicken, rice and a lemon-egg sauce that gives it a gently creamy texture without any cream. In Greece it’s often served when someone has a cold or simply needs a comforting “mom’s soup”. It tastes a bit like a cross between chicken broth and a light lemony sauce – filling yet still fresh.
Avgolemono is a technique of emulsifying eggs with lemon used in Greece not only for soups, but also for sauces for vegetables and meat. In the chicken and rice version, the soup is often served at home in winter or after illness as a warming, gentle dish.
This classic Greek avgolemono soup combines the comfort of chicken broth with the brightness of fresh lemon and the silkiness of an egg-thickened sauce. It’s naturally creamy without any dairy and feels both nourishing and light at the same time.
Why this version works
- Browning the chicken before adding water gives the broth a deeper flavor.
- Cooking the rice directly in the broth, but without an excess of it, lets you control the thickness.
- Tempering the eggs with hot broth step by step minimizes the risk of curdling.
- Adding the lemon in the egg-lemon sauce, not directly to the pot, gives a clean, fresh flavor.
Chef's tips
Keep the heat very low once you add the egg-lemon mixture – even a brief boil can cause it to split. Temper the eggs slowly with hot broth and whisk constantly. If you’re unsure, you can take the pot off the heat completely while adding the mixture, then return it to the lowest heat just to warm through.
How to serve
Serve in warm bowls, topped with plenty of fresh parsley and freshly ground black pepper. A side of crusty bread, pita or simple garlic toasts works well for dipping. For a fuller meal, add a Greek-style salad with tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and olives.
Watch out for
- Do not let the soup boil after adding the avgolemono – the first bubbles are a signal to take the pot off the heat.
- Do not shorten the chicken cooking time, otherwise the broth will be shallow in flavor and watery.
Ingredients
- chicken preferably leg quarters or drumsticks on the bone - 600 g
- water - 2 l
- carrot peeled, sliced - 2 piece
- celery stalk chopped into pieces - 2 stalks
- onion peeled, halved - 1 piece
- rice short-grain or risotto rice - 80 g
- egg at room temperature - 2 piece
- lemon freshly squeezed juice - 2 piece
- bay leaf - 2 piece
- allspice berry - 4 piece
- salt to taste
- black pepper freshly ground, to taste
- olive oil for cooking - 1 tablespoon
- parsley chopped, for serving - 2 tablespoons
Preparation
- Rinse the chicken under cold water and pat dry. Heat the olive oil in a large pot, add the chicken pieces and brown for 5–7 minutes over medium heat, until they are lightly browned in spots and no longer pink; the bottom of the pot may brown slightly.
- Pour 2 l of water over the chicken, add the peeled onion, carrot, celery, bay leaves, allspice and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, skimming off any foam until the surface of the broth is clear.
- Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 35–40 minutes, without a rolling boil, until the meat is very tender and starts to fall off the bone, and the broth turns golden and very aromatic.
- Lift the chicken out onto a plate to cool slightly. Remove the onion, bay leaves and allspice from the broth. Add the rinsed rice to the pot, stir and cook for 12–15 minutes, until tender but still pleasantly firm.
- While the rice is cooking, remove the meat from the bones, discarding the skin and cartilage. Cut the meat into small pieces or shred it into fibers – it should fall apart easily under your fingers, not be dry.
- In a bowl, whisk the eggs for about 1 minute, until the mixture is uniform and slightly foamy. Still whisking, slowly pour in the lemon juice until you have a smooth, pale mixture with no streaks of egg white.
- Ladle a scoop of very hot broth (without rice) from the pot and pour it in a thin stream into the bowl with the eggs and lemon, whisking vigorously. Repeat 2 more times, until the bowl feels clearly warm.
- Reduce the heat under the soup to the lowest setting so it only steams gently. Slowly pour the tempered egg–lemon mixture into the pot, stirring constantly for 1–2 minutes, until the soup thickens slightly and becomes creamy, without any bubbles of boiling.
- Add the chicken pieces to the soup, season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Heat for another 2–3 minutes over a very low flame, making sure the surface only trembles lightly and does not boil.
- Serve immediately, sprinkled with chopped parsley. If the soup thickens noticeably after a few minutes of standing, add a splash of hot water or broth and stir gently until it is silky again.
Storage
No storage information available for this dish.
This soup is one of those dishes that tastes like a hug in a bowl. The lemon keeps it from feeling heavy, so it’s perfect both for colder days and for times when you’re under the weather and need something gentle yet satisfying.
