Recipe: Make Avgolemono Soup from Calissa's Bob Abrams

Warm up this National Soup Month with this delicious Avgolemono Soup from Bob Abrams, executive chef of Calissa.

Calissa Avgolemono Soup from Bob Abrams

Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 medium carrot, diced small
1 small onion, diced small
3 cloves garlic, minced
10 cups (2.4 L) chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 cup (210 g) orzo, dry
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup (118 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 large eggs, room temperature
Fresh herbs, chopped
Optional garnish: parsley, dill or chives

Directions:

1. Small dice the onion and carrot, and mince the cloves of garlic. Cut the chicken into small, bite-sized pieces and season them with salt and pepper.

2. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Sauté the chicken for 2–3 minutes, then remove from the pan and set aside.

3. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pot. Sauté the diced onion and carrot for 3–4 minutes, then add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

4. Add in the chicken broth and bay leaves, and raise the temperature to high heat.

5. Once the broth is boiling, add in the cooked chicken, dry orzo, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the orzo has cooked, about 10–12 minutes. Remove the soup pot from the heat.

6. In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice with the eggs.

7. Very slowly pour in 2 ladles’ worth of broth from the pot while continuing to whisk. The slow addition of the warm broth will temper the eggs, creating the avgolemono sauce. (Disclaimer: Adding the broth too quickly will result in cooked pieces of egg.)

8. Pour the avgolemono sauce into the pot and stir it in to combine.

9. Serve and optionally garnish with some chopped fresh herbs.

Enjoy!

Calissa is located at 020 Montauk Highway in Water Mill. Call 631-500-9292, or visit calissahamptons.com.