Greek egg and lemon soup

6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

8 cups cold water

1 large unpeeled yellow onion, quartered

2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1/2 cup dried orzo

4 large eggs

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)

For serving:

1/2 medium lemon, thinly sliced

Fresh dill or oregano

Freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Cook the chicken and make the stock:

Place the chicken thighs, cold water, onion, peppercorns, and salt in a 5-quart or larger Dutch oven. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Cook until the chicken is fully cooked through, around 45 minutes to 1 hour. Skim off any foam that forms on the surface.

Strain the stock:

Transfer the cooked chicken to a cutting board. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer into a large heatproof bowl and discard the solids. If there’s too much fat, skim it off with a spoon or use a fat separator. Reserve 2 cups of the stock for later use. Return the remaining stock to the Dutch oven and keep warm over low heat.

Shred the chicken:

When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred the meat into bite-sized pieces using your hands. Discard the skin and bones.

Cook the orzo:

Bring the stock back to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the dried orzo and cook until al dente, about 7 to 9 minutes. Stir in the shredded chicken. Reduce the heat to low.

Prepare the egg-lemon mixture (avgolemono):

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until they are light in color and frothy (about 2 minutes). Slowly whisk in the freshly squeezed lemon juice. Gradually add the reserved 2 cups of warm stock to the egg-lemon mixture while whisking constantly to temper the eggs and prevent them from curdling.

Finish the soup:

Pour the avgolemono (egg-lemon mixture) back into the pot with the chicken and orzo. Stir everything together and cook over low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until the soup thickens slightly. Be careful not to let the soup boil.

Serve:

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with thin lemon slices, freshly chopped dill or oregano, and freshly ground black pepper.#delicioussoup #greek #lemon