Yia Yia's Avgolemono (Greek Lemon Chicken Soup)
Silky Greek chicken soup with egg-lemon sauce and rice. The ultimate comfort food from Melbourne's Greek community kitchens.
The Story Behind This Recipe
My friend's Yia Yia's comfort soup from Thessaloniki via Melbourne - Sophia Papadopoulos
In Melbourne's inner north, where the Greek community has thrived since the 1950s, my friend's Yia Yia (grandmother) makes Avgolemono every time someone in the family is sick, sad, or just needs comfort. She's been making it for sixty years - first in her village near Thessaloniki, then on the boat to Australia in 1962 (somehow, on a camp stove in rough seas), and now in her sunny kitchen in Northcote. "Avgolemono fixes everything," she says in her thick accent. "Broken heart, winter cold, bad day at work - this soup knows."
Avgolemono - literally "egg-lemon" - is one of Greece's most beloved dishes, a silky soup thickened with eggs and brightened with fresh lemon juice. It's ancient, dating back to Sephardic Jewish communities in the Ottoman Empire, and became a cornerstone of Greek home cooking. Every Greek family has their version, passed down through generations. Yia Yia learned from her mother, who learned from her grandmother, back through time immemorial. "In Greece," Yia Yia explains, "when you're sick, you don't get chicken noodle soup. You get Avgolemono. This is Greek medicine."
What makes Avgolemono special is the egg-lemon liaison - a technique where beaten eggs are tempered with hot broth and lemon juice to create a silky, velvety texture without curdling. It's delicate work that requires patience and a gentle hand. "The secret," Yia Yia teaches, "is respect the eggs. You rush, the eggs scramble. You go slow, add hot broth little by little, whisk constantly, the eggs transform into silk. This is not fast food. This is patient food."
Yia Yia's recipe follows the traditional pattern: homemade chicken stock (she'd never use store-bought - "that's not soup, that's salty water"), cooked chicken shredded into the broth, rice or orzo simmered until tender, then the magical egg-lemon mixture whisked in at the end to transform clear broth into creamy, tangy, luxurious comfort. The final soup should be silky and opaque, coating the back of a spoon, tasting bright with lemon but rich with chicken, warming you from the inside out.
When someone in the family calls Yia Yia feeling unwell, her response is always the same: "Come over, I make Avgolemono." Within an hour, a pot is simmering on the stove, filling her kitchen with the smell of chicken, lemon, and love. She serves it in deep bowls with crusty bread on the side, watching to make sure you finish every drop. "Eat," she commands gently. "The soup knows what you need."
This soup represents the Greek-Australian experience - maintaining culinary traditions across oceans, using food as medicine and comfort, and proving that some flavors are so fundamental they become part of your identity. When I'm sick now, I don't reach for chicken noodle soup from a can. I make Yia Yia's Avgolemono, and with each spoonful of silky, lemony comfort, I understand why she says "the soup knows."
"Every recipe tells a story, and every story brings us closer to the heart of home."
Adjust Servings
Scaled Ingredients:
💡 Tip: Cooking times may need adjustment when scaling. Larger batches may take longer, smaller batches may cook faster.
Ingredients
For the Soup Base
For the Egg-Lemon Mixture
For Serving
Pro Tips
- • Use room temperature eggs - they temper more easily and are less likely to curdle.
- • Fresh lemon juice is essential - bottled juice doesn't have the same brightness.
- • Temper the eggs slowly with hot broth - rushing causes scrambled eggs in your soup!
- • Remove pot from heat before adding the tempered egg mixture - critical step!
- • Don't reheat avgolemono after adding eggs - it will curdle. Eat immediately.
- • For a richer soup, use 4 eggs instead of 3.
- • Orzo pasta can replace rice for a different texture (also traditional).
Storage
Avgolemono doesn't store or reheat well once the eggs are added - the egg mixture can separate or curdle. Best eaten fresh. If you must store, keep the soup base (before adding eggs) refrigerated for 3 days, then make the egg-lemon mixture fresh when reheating.
Instructions
- 1
If using raw chicken: In a large pot, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Add the chicken breast or thigh and the bay leaf. Reduce heat and simmer gently for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and tender. If using leftover cooked chicken, skip to step 3.
25 minutes - 2
Remove the cooked chicken from the broth and set aside on a plate to cool slightly. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Keep the broth simmering gently on low heat.
- 3
Add the rice (or orzo) to the simmering broth. Cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender and cooked through. The rice should be soft, not al dente. Yia Yia says Greek soup rice should be very soft.
20 minutes - 4
While the rice cooks, shred the cooled chicken into bite-sized pieces using two forks or your hands. Discard any skin or bones. If using leftover roast chicken, simply shred it now.
- 5
Once the rice is cooked, add the shredded chicken back to the pot. Stir and let it warm through for 2-3 minutes. Taste the broth and season with salt and white pepper - remember, it should be well-seasoned before you add the egg mixture.
3 minutes - 6
This is the crucial step - the Avgolemono: In a medium bowl, beat the eggs vigorously with a whisk or electric mixer for 1-2 minutes until light and frothy. The eggs should increase in volume and turn pale yellow.
2 minutes - 7
Add the fresh lemon juice to the beaten eggs and whisk to combine. The mixture will be smooth and pale. Yia Yia says this is where the magic starts.
- 8
Now the tempering (this is critical - go slowly!): Using a ladle, add one ladleful of the hot broth to the egg-lemon mixture while whisking constantly and vigorously. This tempers the eggs so they don't scramble. Keep whisking!
- 9
Add a second ladleful of hot broth to the egg mixture, still whisking constantly. The mixture should be getting thinner and warmer. Add a third ladleful, whisking all the time. By now, the egg mixture should be well-tempered and quite warm.
- 10
Remove the soup pot from the heat entirely - this is important. Working off the heat, slowly pour the tempered egg-lemon mixture into the soup, stirring gently but constantly with a wooden spoon. The soup will transform before your eyes, becoming cloudy, creamy, and silky.
- 11
Keep stirring gently for 1-2 minutes as the residual heat thickens the soup. It should become opaque and silky, coating the back of your spoon. Do NOT return to the heat or the eggs will curdle. Yia Yia's warning: 'Patient now. Heat off. Stir gentle. The soup knows what to do.'
2 minutes - 12
Taste and adjust seasoning if needed - add more lemon juice for brightness, more salt for depth, white pepper for subtle warmth. The soup should be silky, rich, tangy-but-not-sour, and utterly comforting.
- 13
Ladle into warm bowls immediately. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley or dill. Serve with crusty bread and extra lemon wedges on the side. Yia Yia always serves this in her nicest bowls - 'Comfort food deserves respect,' she says.
Ingredient Substitutions
Nutrition Information
Per serving (approximate)
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