A week or two ago I was talking with a friend's dad about making homemade chicken soup. He asked me if I'd ever had lemon chicken soup. I told him I'd put some lemon in my soup before, to which he stopped me and said that it wasn't the same. He proceeded to say that the soup had a squeeze of lemon and raw eggs added at the end. I immediately though of something similar to egg drop soup, but was corrected and told that the eggs were tempered and added to the soup for a creamy texture and not laced through like ribbons (if that makes any sense).
During the following week, I kept thinking that I wanted to come up with some sort of recipe for the blog and kept coming back to how great it would be to make this chicken soup. I did my usual scouring of the interwebs to find the best recipes for Avgolemono (Greek lemon chicken) Soup and finally came up with the basis for my own version:
Paleo Avgolemono Soup
Ingredients:
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 cup chicken broth + 9-10 cups homemade broth (see below)
- 2 large onions, 1 cut in half and the other chopped
- 8 cloves garlic, 4 smashed and 4 minced
- 3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
- 4-5 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp peppercorns
- 1 tbsp fish sauce (I use Red Boat)
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- oregano
- ground cinnamon
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- paprika
- 1/2 cauliflower, "riced"
- 5 eggs, separated
- 5 lemons
- salt
- pepper
- lard
Method:
- Roast the chicken:
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Melt a little lard and rub it all over the chicken.
- Season the inside and outside liberally with a mixture of salt, pepper, onion/garlic powders, oregano, paprika, and cinnamon (use amounts that suit your tastes).
- Cut one of the lemons into quarters. Spritz a little on the outside of the chicken and then stick all the the quarters inside.
- Put the chicken in a roasting pan and pour in 1 cup of broth (I find this helps to keep the chicken moist during the cooking process). Place the pan in the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes.
- Turn down the heat to 350 degrees and continue to roast for 20 minutes per pound. I had a 4.4 lb chicken, which took 1 1/2 hours at the lower temp.
- Remove the chicken from the over, cover loosely with foil, and let it rest for at least 10 minutes.
- At this point you can carve the chicken, shred up all the meat, put it into a container and set it aside. SAVE THE BONES!!!
- Make the broth:
- Take the saved bones from the roasted chicken and throw them into a slow cooker. Add the chicken feet, halved onion (skin on), 4 smashed cloves garlic, apple cider vinegar, fish sauce, bay leaves, a tbsp oregano, peppercorns, a little bit of salt, and the cinnamon stick. Set the temp to low and let cook for 24 hours. (Yes, 24...)
- Strain the broth, discard the remnants/bones, and set aside.
- Make the soup:
- Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add a tbsp or so of lard.
- Throw in the chopped onion, carrots and celery. Saute for a few minutes, until they start to soften. Add the minced garlic and saute for another minute.
- Pour in 9-10 cups of broth and bring to a boil. Add in 1-1 1/2 tbsp oregano, salt/pepper, the riced cauliflower, and about half of the shredded chicken (use more or less depending on what you feel like). Bring to a boil again, reduce the heat, and let simmer until the veggies are tender and the chicken heated through.
- While the soup is simmering, whisk or beat the egg whites until they form medium peaks. Add the yolks and the juice from the remaining 4 lemons. Be sure not to over beat.
- When the soup is near ready, pour about two cups of the hot broth into the beaten eggs in a slow steady stream. (We want to temper the eggs, not cook them)
- Pour the egg mix into the soup and stir to combine.
- Taste. Make any adjustments to seasonings. Serve in large bowls and enjoy!
Sorry for the long set of directions and amount of prep/cook time for this recipe. Trust me. It's totally worth it! The soup is rich and creamy, with a pleasant lemon-y flavor. This is the perfect soup for a cold, wintery day!
