Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

Evan called me this afternoon and wasn't feeling very well. So I decided to make some chicken soup. My "Good Houskeeping" cookbook has a recipe for Greek Style Lemon Chicken Soup (also none as avgolemono in Greece). I decided to try it. The prep time is fast (15 minutes).

Ingredients:

1 large skinless, boneless chicken breast half (6 ounces)

1 small onion, peeled and studded with 2 whole cloves ( I didn't have cloves so I skipped this part)

1 carrot, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces

1 stalk celery, cut into 2-inch pieces (I bought the already cut carrots and celery, Mirapoix, from trader joe's)

2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) chicken broth or you can dilute the "Better than Bouillon" chicken base in water

2 1/2 cups water

2/3 cup regular long-grain rice

3 large eggs

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)

1 tablespoon butter, cut into pieces

1. In non reactive 3-quart saucepan(I love my Le Crueset pan), combine chicken, onion, carrot, celery, broth, and water; heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes.

2. Remove chicken and vegetables from saucepan. (I poured over my strainer into a bowl, but you can also use a slotted spoon.) Discard the vegetables. When cool enough to handle, shred chicken into thin strips.

3. Meanwhile, add rice to simmering broth; heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until rice is tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

4. In a large bowl, with wire whisk, mix eggs and lemon juice until combined.

5. Slowly whisk 2 cups simmering broth into bowl with egg mixture, whisking constantly. Return broth mixture to saucepan; heat just to simmering, whisking constantly, until broth has slightly thickened, about 5 minutes (do not boil). Remove from heat and stir in  shredded chicken and butter. Makes about 7 cups of soup.

Evan and I loved this soup and it definitely helped his cold. I also served it with toasted french bread. Enjoy!

Chicken Mulligatawny Soup

Tonight Evan made Chicken Mulligatawny Soup. This recipe is courtesy of Williams Sonoma and their "Food Made Fast, Soup" cook book. We love this recipe, it is fast easy and delicious. It is a curried chicken soup with vegetables. This soup includes yogurt as one of its ingredients which adds a nice thickness to the soup. The ingredients are fresh and easy to obtain and it is super easy to put together. 

Ingredients:

3 Tbsps Unsalted butter

1 1/2 lbs chicken (you could also use turkey breast) cut into bite size cubes

1 finely chopped yellow onion

3 stalks of celery finely chopped

2 carrots finely chopped

1 clove of garlic minced

1 Tbsp of curry powder

4 cups of chicken broth (we like the campbells soup cans or swansons)

1/2 cup of long grain white rice

1 cup plain yogurt (we prefer greek yogurt)

1/4 fresh  cilantro minced

salt and pepper to taste

First Evan melts the butter in our Dutch oven over medium heat. Then he adds the chicken and sautes until brown on all sides. He removes the chicken and sets it aside when thoroughly cooked. Next he adds the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic to the pot and sautes until the onion is translucent, about 7 minutes. Then he stirs in the curry powder and cooks for 2-3 minutes longer to blend the flavors.

Next he adds the chicken broth and chicken to the vegetables in the pot and brings them to a simmer over high heat. Then he reduces the heat to medium. The next step in the recipe calls to add the rice and cook the rice in the soup. We prefer to cook the rice in our rice cooker and toss it in. It makes it go a little faster, but it works either way. After it simmers for 10-15 minutes stir in the yogurt and simmer over medium for 10 more minutes. Then season to taste with salt and pepper and garnish each bowl with cilantro.  

Even though it was 90 today we still continue are week of comfort food. I must admit this one is delicious and I am glad I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.