avgolemono

Recipe origin: Greece

Ingredients

• 8 cups (4 cans) chicken broth
• 1 cup uncooked rice
• 3 eggs
• 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons salt, or to taste

Procedure

1. In a large pot, bring broth to a boil over medium to high heat and add salt.
2. Add rice, cover, and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs well. Add lemon juice to eggs while stirring constantly.
4. Slowly pour 1½ cups of hot chicken broth into egg-lemon mixture, stirring constantly.
5. Add egg mixture to rest of broth-rice mixture. Continue to stir. Heat on low heat without boiling.
6. Serve with toasted pita bread.

Serves 8.

The Greeks eat bread, grains, potatoes, rice, and pasta nearly every day. Staples of the Greek diet include olives (and olive oil), eggplant, cucumbers, tomatoes, spinach, lentils, and other types of beans, lemons, nuts, honey, yogurt, feta cheese, eggs, fish, chicken, and lamb. The following are some of the most famous Greek dishes: dolmades, (stuffed grape leaves); an egg and lemon soup called avgolemono; meat, spinach, and cheese pies; moussaka (a meat and eggplant dish); souvlaki (lamb on a skewer); and baklava (nut-and-honey pastry wrapped in layers of thin dough called phyllo). The national beverage of Greece is strong Turkish coffee, which is served in small cups. Other beverages include ouzo, an alcoholic drink flavored with anise, and a popular wine called retsina.