My friend Brian hosted Book Club this week, since Sasha is in Brazil, and he totally busted out a fantastic Middle Eastern meal. He made this Avgolomeno recipe for the first time, and I assisted him as he navigated through the as yet uncharted waters (for him) of whipping egg whites and tempering eggs with hot broth. Teamwork won out and it came out super delicious! It is really rich tasting, lemony, and frothy. A definite hit that I am looking forward to making again soon!


(I only had a camera phone on me, ergo the picture is a little avant garde for this recipe.)



Avgolemono
this amount will serve 6-8, depending on what else you're going to serve with it.

Ingredients:

• 8 cups chicken broth (best quality you can find, or homemade ideally)
• 1 cup orzo  or rice
• 4 eggs, separated
• juice of 3 lemons
• salt to taste
• chopped mint or cilantro for garnish

Method:

• Heat the broth until it boils, then add the orzo or rice and simmer until tender, about 20 min.
• Meanwhile, whip the egg whites until they hold medium peaks.
• While beating continuously add the yolks and then the lemon juice.
• Temper the egg mixture by adding 2 cups of the hot chicken broth in a slow, constant stream while continuing to beat so that you do not curdle the eggs.
• Add the tempered egg mixture back into the remaining broth and combine. Taste and add salt if needed.
• Garnish with mint or cilantro.
• You can make it ahead, but heat it up slowly over low heat so the eggs don't cook too much.

UPDATE: here is a link to a recipe for homemade chicken stock from Serious Eats.

UPDATE 2: who am I kidding? I don't have time to make homemade chicken stock. So let me tell you that I made this again using Pacific organic chicken stock (from Whole Foods) with a couple shots of the Savory Choice liquid concentrated chicken stock packet thingies (also from Whole Foods), and it was really rich and flavorful.