Avgolemeno

Sometimes I become a little preoccupied with a particular dish or ingredient. I will go through phases of craving something for days and weeks on end. A few years ago, I went through a peanut butter-banana phase, where I so loved the combination, I could hardly have one without the other. I've gone through a grapefruit phase, where I had one for breakfast and then another for a snack (this went on for a couple of weeks). It's like I just can't get enough of a good thing!

A few years ago, I went through an avgolemeno phase. I made it once a week for over a month. I was crazy for avgolemeno. It's easy to see why...it's a deliciously simple yet incredibly flavorful Greek soup. And it has some of my all-time favorite ingredients: lemon, eggs, and pasta (orzo, a rice-shaped pasta to be exact).

The other night when we were on the tail end of our grocery supply, I realized we had all the key ingredients and was resourcefully inspired to whip up a batch. It was just as tasty as I remembered, and just as easy.

All you have to do is boil some chicken broth, throw in the orzo, whisk up some eggs and lemon juice, and combine it in one big pot (okay, it's almost that simple...check out all the recipe deets here). We were out of parsley (which is the garnish the recipe calls for) but we had some dill which was even tastier. It's a traditional Greek herb, after all. I also topped it with a little arugula and some shaved Pecorino Romano cheese for a bit of flavor and texture contrast.

Because the eggs are slowly heated by the broth, they create a thick and creamy base. The lemon provides just the right amount of tart acidity to balance the richness of the eggs. And the orzo is delicately suspended in the slightly sour soup.

Bright, creamy, perfectly salty. It's definitely worth obsessing over.

Happy Searching!