Monday, September 26, 2011

Avgolemono (Greek Vegetarian Lemon Orzo Soup)


So my question today was what do I want for dinner?  Completely uninspired and close to grabbing take-out, I asked a co-worker and he suggested Egg Drop Soup….which got me thinking that I haven’t had Avgolemono (Greek lemon orzo soup) –also has eggs in it- in years.  I’ve been a vegetarian for 13 years so it has been at least that long, as it’s usually made with a whole chicken as the base for the broth.  I started this recipe by looking online at recipes and really didn’t find one I liked.  So, I called my mom and she and I worked out a new recipe while on the phone for a good hour.  Here is what we came up with, enjoy!


Vegetarian Lemon Orzo Soup (Avgolemono)

Ingredients

o   2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
o   1 large onion, chopped
o   3-4 large carrots, chopped
o   A head of celery, chopped
o   8 cups of water
o   1 tablespoon dried dill weed
o   ½ tablespoon dried oregano
o   1 cup orzo
o   3 eggs
o   The juice of 2 lemons
o   Salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions

1.    Heat EVOO in large soup pot, add veggies and sweat them out for a few minutes.
2.   Add 8 cups of water and bring to slow boil.  The longer you cook this, the better broth you will end up with.
3.   While veggies are cooking, prepare 1 cup of orzo according to directions on the box.
4.   Use immersion blender or food processor to break down big pieces of veggies when broth is ready (broth should cook for at least ½ hour).
5.   Add orzo to prepared vegetable broth.
6.   In separate bowl, whip eggs and add lemon juice.  Slowly add a few tablespoons of the broth to the lemon egg mixture at a time, to avoid curdling the eggs.  Do this until the lemon mixture is hot enough to add to soup pot without cooking the eggs.
7.   Add salt to taste and enjoy!

Overall
At first I wasn’t sure about this recipe, I was going for a very specific taste when I set out to make this.  Once the soup cooled down and I added enough salt to take the place of the missing chicken, it was divine!  I will absolutely make this again.  Next time I might consider roasting the veggies before adding the water for a richer flavor.

Frugality
The onion was probably about $.50, the carrots were $.44, and the celery was $.88 all from Sprouts.  I had the spices and eggs on hand.  The lemons were $.84 and the orzo was $1.50 from Fresh and Easy.  The total for this big pot of soup came out to $4.16.  A great deal!!

Look Forward To
Doing something with all of these plums, nectarines and tomatoes…I’m thinking of plum oat muffins and maybe a homemade tomato sauce but that could change with my mood. 




10 comments:

  1. I was lucky enough to get a bowl from the chef and it was delicious! Thanks Kate!

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  2. Hi Kate,
    Your soup looks so good. I just Lemon in soup. Thanks for sharing and hope you are having a great day!
    Miz Helen

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  3. This looks simply delicious. I could go for a bowl, right now.

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  4. Hi, I'm a new follower. I found you on Freestyle Friday Blog Hop. Hop over and
    say hi if you get a chance Jennifer from Just Wedeminute--

    This looks so good and refreshing!

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  5. Hi Kate! Yummy recipe! Thanks so much for dropping by and sharing at the Tuesday To Do Party!
    Smiles!
    Jami
    www.blackberryvine.blogspot.com

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  6. This looks fantastic! THanks so much for linking up to Friday Potluck!!! :)

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  7. yum! this sounds delicious! Thanks so much for linking up to Tuesday Talent Show! I would love to have you stop by and link up again tomorrow with more great projects!
    -Nikki
    http://chef-n-training.blogspot.com/

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  8. Gorgeous looking soup - avgolemono is one of my favourites.
    Sue :-)

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  9. Delicious! I would love the lemon flavor of this soup.

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