Caspar cookbook: SIENNA'S AVGHOLEMENO

Sienna's Avgholemeno

This classic Greek chicken-egg-lemon soup
has been a favorite of children for millennia
-- hearty and cheering on a cold day.

Boil 6 cups of broth
-- chicken broth is good, vegetable or mushroom broth for vegetarians --
and 1/2 to 3/4 cup of rice.
If you use brown rice, start it cooking 20 minutes earlier.
Juice 6 small lemons
(or 1 cup of freshly squozen lemon juice) and add slowly to
6 thoroughly beaten whole eggs.

Gradually add a couple of cups of the heated broth
to the egg-lemon mixture to warm it,
then return it to the broth.
Stir judiciously over a low flame.
(Don't be anxious; it IS possible to overstir.)
Salt to taste.
Within a few minutes, something magical takes place.

Serves 4 as main course

Variants: Add chunks of chicken.
Use orzo instead of rice ... but be warned: if you don't eat the whole batch at the first sitting, the orzo will continue to expand, and you'll need to add water or more stock to thin the soup enough to heat and eat.

recipe contributed by Sienna Potts