Chicken Soup With Leeks and Lemon

By Martha Rose Shulman

Chicken Soup With Leeks and Lemon
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
1 hour 10 minutes
Rating
4(1,127)
Comments
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This is inspired by both the classic Greek soup avgolemono and Scottish cockaleekee. Start with a flavorful chicken or turkey broth, simmer leeks and rice or bulgur in the soup until tender, then enrich with eggs and lemon. The trick here is to begin with a flavorful stock and not to allow the eggs to curdle when you combine the soup and the avgolemono sauce. You can make a vegetarian version of this using a garlic broth or by making a robust vegetable stock using the dark leafy parts of the leeks.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings
  • 2quarts chicken or turkey stock, preferably homemade
  • 1pound leeks, white and light green parts only, cleaned and sliced thin
  • ⅔cup rice or coarse bulgur (to taste)
  • 4large eggs, at room temperature
  • Fresh juice of 2 lemons, strained, or about 6 to 8 tablespoons, to taste
  • Salt to taste
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • Chopped fresh parsley or dill for garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

276 calories; 8 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 38 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 16 grams protein; 1113 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine the stock and leeks, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer 20 minutes. Add the rice or bulgur, and continue to simmer until the grain is cooked through, 15 to 30 minutes. Taste and adjust salt.

  2. Step 2

    Beat together the eggs and lemon juice until frothy in a medium bowl.

  3. Step 3

    Just before serving, making sure that the broth isn’t boiling, gradually add 2 cups to the egg and lemon mixture while beating vigorously with a whisk to prevent the eggs from curdling. Turn off the heat under the soup, pour the egg-lemon mixture into the soup, stir well and serve, adding a bit of pepper to each bowl and garnishing with chopped fresh parsley or dill.

Tip
  • Advance preparation: You can make this soup through Step 1 several hours before serving, but the grain will continue to absorb liquid; if you do make it ahead, use ½ cup instead of ⅔ cup.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,127 user ratings
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Comments

Kristin

This is delicious and simple. I added cooked, shredded chicken to make it a meal.

Hannah

Delish but I should have added way less rice than this recipe suggested. It turned into a very tasty faux risotto, but I would have preferred soup! If I make it again, I'll use half broth, half water and add white wine.

Mike D in NC

I use Orzo instead of rice and I usually add some cubed chicken thighs but all in all this recipe makes a delicious, satisfying soup. Don't be afraid to mess with it though. Some Parsley or Tarragon, a bit more lemon or zest, a bit of garlic or minced, caramelized onion. There are as many variations as there are Greek cooks!

RoseRover

This is such a delicious simple and satisfying soup! I've made it as per the recipe and most recently when I had no leeks on hand with finely sliced green onions and white onions in place of the leeks. Still delicious. It's also quite easy to halve the recipe. I usually start with a lower amount of lemon juice and then add more to taste. I quite like the nuttiness of bulgur and I haven't tried it with rice.

Nirav

Sweated the leeks first, as suggested by some here, but with salt, pepper and garlic for more flavor. Also cooked with boneless skinless chicken thighs (allowing its fat to add to the soup too), and shredded them before adding in lemon egg mix. Ended up tasting amazing!

Talia

I thought the soup was better before the egg addition! Next time I'm going to leave that part out.

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