Greek Egg-lemon Chicken Soup

Total Time: 2 hrs 15 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 whole chicken (trim fat and remove skin)
• 12 cups water
• 2 carrots (cut in half0)
• 2 celery ribs (cut in half)
• 1 large onion (cut in half0)
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 peppercorns (whole)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup orzo pasta (or rice)
• 3 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 lemons (juiced and strained)
• salt & fresh ground pepper

Recipe

• 1 add first eight ingredients to a large stockpot. bring water to a rapid boil, lower heat to medium low and simmer partially covered for about an hour to hour and a half.
• 2 remove the chicken and vegetables to a bowl and strain the broth through a fine sieve into a large bowl. return the broth to the stockpot and bring to a boil.
• 3 add the orzo past or rice and cook, uncovered for about 10-12 minutes until tender.
• 4 while the pasta is cooking, prepare the egg-.lemon mixture. using a whisk beat the eggs until nice and frothy. add the lemon zest and lemon juice in a steady stream while continuing to whisk.
• 5 when the pasta has finished cooking, turn off the heat. ladle about two cups of broth into a bowl.slowly add the hot broth to the egg-lemon mixture while continuing to whisk. this will prevent the eggs from curdling.
• 6 stir the egg-lemon mixture into the pot and heat over very low heat for about 5-10 minutes. be careful not to boil the soup.
• 7 season with salt and pepper to taste.
• 8 you can follow tradition by serving this without the chicken or vegetables, add them back to the soup, or serve them on the sidel.