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Kotopoulo soupa avgolemono has to be one of the most delicious and nourishing soups in the world. It fills me with nostalgia because it reminds me of autumn lunches at home in Athens, where huge quantities were consumed. Its welcoming aroma always adds a bright note to a cold day, and it makes a very substantial meal by itself.
1 chicken, about 1.6 kilograms/3 and 1/2 pounds
1 and 3/4 litres/3 pints/7 and 1/2 cups water
2 onions, halved
2 carrots, roughly chopped
3 celery sticks, each sliced into 3–4 pieces
few sprigs of fresh flat leaf parsley
50 grams/2 ounces/1/3 cup short grain rice
lemon wedges, to serve (optional)
2.5 grams/1 teaspoon cornflour/Gefen Cornstarch
2 eggs, at room temperature
juice of 1–2 lemons
Place the chicken in a large pan with the water. Bring to the boil and skim using a slotted spoon until the surface of the liquid is clear. Add the vegetables, parsley and peppercorns, season with salt and bring to the boil. Lower the heat slightly, then cover the pan and cook for one hour (longer if a boiling fowl or stewing chicken is used), until the chicken is very tender.
Carefully lift out the chicken and put it on a board. Strain the stock and set it aside, but discard the vegetables. Pull away the chicken breasts, skin them and dice the flesh. Do the same with the legs. Pour the stock back into the pan and add the chicken meat.
Shortly before serving, heat the stock and diced chicken. When the stock boils, add the rice. Cover and cook for about 8 minutes, until the rice is soft. Take the pan off the heat and let the soup cool a little while you make the sauce.
To make the sauce, mix the cornflour to a paste with a little water. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl, add the lemon juice and the cornflour mixture, and beat together until smooth and well mixed.
Gradually beat a ladleful of the hot chicken stock into the egg mixture, then continue to beat for 1 minute. Add a second ladleful in the same way. By now, the sauce will be warm, so you can pour it slowly into the soup. Stir vigorously to mix it in.
Warm the soup over a gentle heat for no more than three to four minutes; any longer and the eggs may curdle, even though the cornflour should safeguard against that happening.
Serve immediately in warmed bowls, with a plate of lemon wedges for those who wish to add extra juice.
Recipe excerpted from Rena Salaman’s FOOD & COOKING OF GREECE
ISBN 9780754835455
240 pages, £20 / $35
© and Published by Lorenz Books
Purchase on Amazon
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