Vegetarian Diaries - Avgolemono Soup

Avgolemono Soup my favorite (Greek) soup.   I have made the soup a few times.  It does require quite a few steps and I think I am the only one in the house that really appreciates a good Avgolemono Soup.

After hearing about (and tasting) a vegetarian Avgolemono soup that my brother made, I decided that I'm going to have to give it a try.  It can't be that hard to make, right?  Oh, and I say vegetarian because this soup does contain eggs.  I'm not sure how you can make it vegan.  If I figure that one out, I will update the recipe. 

Sometimes chicken is added to Avgolemono soup.  The one thing I like about this recipe is that it contains chick peas (for that added protein).  I added rice to the soup, but you can add quinoa or orzo for a different texture.  Feel free to add other vegetables, i.e. peas and corn to the soup for added color. 

This soup is best served alone (for those of us who love Avgolemono soup) or it can be served with a main course. 

Here's the recipe:

Vegetarian Avgolemono Soup

ingredients:
1 TBSP olive oil
1 sml onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups vegetable stock
1 can chick peas, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup rice
2 eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
2 handfuls of fresh baby spinach
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste

directions:
Heat oil in large pot. 
Add onion and saute.
Add carrots and garlic and saute for 5 minutes.
Add vegetable stock and chick peas.  Stir till starts to boil.
Reduce heat to medium and keep at a simmer
Add rice and stir to combine.
Continue until rice is cooked, stirring so it does not stick to bottom of pot.
While rice is cooking, whisk eggs and lemon juice together.  Ladle one cup of hot soup broth and whisk into egg/lemon mixture very slowly (so you don't cook the eggs!).  Repeat this with one more cup of hot broth. 
Once the rice is cooked, slowly add the egg/lemon mixture, stirring frequently (you don't want scrambled eggs in there!)
Put heat on low and add spinach, oregano, salt and pepper. 



*This makes about 4-5 servings....feel free to double this recipe.  I make smaller amounts because there aren't that many people here to feed.
*If adding orzo, 1/2 cup for this recipe
*Feel free to add some dill to this recipe instead of the oregano

If you make this Avgolemono Soup, let me know what you think!

Enjoy!