Chicken and Rice Soup with a Lemon-Egg Sauce

This recipe is a quicker version of a Greek soup called "Avgolemono", that I can't pronounce. I love the concept of an egg-lemon sauce thickening my chicken soup and I have a pantry full of rice, so here we are...

Chicken and Rice Soup with a Lemon-Egg Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 1/2 quarts chicken stock
2 bay leaves
2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 3)
1/2 cup long-grain rice
3 eggs
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup frozen peas, defrosted
1 tablespoon dried dill weed

In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add the onions. Sweat the onions until clear. Add the broth, bay leaves, water, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and bring to a simmer. Add the chicken breasts to the pot and simmer until they are just done, about 10 minutes. Remove the chicken breasts from the pot; when they are cool enough to handle, cut them into bite-size pieces.

Meanwhile, stir the rice into the simmering broth. Increase the heat and boil until the rice is almost tender, about 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible temperature.

In a medium glass or stainless-steel bowl, beat the eggs, lemon juice, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt until frothy. Remove about 1 cup of the hot broth from the pot. Pour the hot liquid in a thin stream into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the pot and stir until the soup begins to thicken, about 3 minutes. Do not let the soup come to a simmer, or it may curdle. Return the chicken to the pot and stir in the peas and dill. Season to taste.

Comments

[Kim]

REALLY GOOD SOUP!

[Jimbo]

It came out great! Thanx

[Julia]

Do you know how well this freezes/microwaves?

[Patrick]

With the Eggs in it it wouldn't be good to freeze/reheat, they'd curdle. Making it up to that point, freezing it, and thickening with the eggs at that point would work though.