Beef Avgolemono Soup

In Greek, avgolemono means egg-lemon. The egg yolks and lemon juice mixture gives the soup its white color and velvety texture...not to mention it's awesome taste! It is my favorite thing my dad makes....next to pastitio..lol!



For the Beef Avgolemono Soup

4 1/2 lbs. beef bottom chuck, cut into chunks
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 medium red onion, chopped
3 - 4 stalks of celery, sliced
3 - 4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
1 - 15 oz, can sliced white potatoes, cut into quarters
1 cup orzo pasta
8 cups beef stock
8 cups water

For the avgolemono -

Juice of 1 lemon
3 egg yolks

In a large stew pot, cover the meat with the broth and water and bring to a boil. Skim off any foam that rises to the top. Add salt, pepper and onions and continue to boil for 10 minutes.
Add the celery and continue to cook for 50 minutes. Add the carrots and continue to boil for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the liquid reduces to about half and the meat is fork tender. (Total cooking time 2 1/2 to 3 hours)
Add the orzo and potatoes and boil for 10 minutes or until the orzo is just tender.

How to make the avgolemono -

Just before the cooking time is up, remove a cup of the broth and allow to cool. In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks. Slowly beat in the broth, whisking continuously. Add the lemon juice.
As soon as the orzo has cooked for 10 minutes, turn off the heat. Add the avgolemono mixture to the soup and stir in gently, stirring in one direction only.
Pour soup into bowls and serve with crusty Italian bread.