Avgolemono Soup (Greek Egg Lemon Soup)

Place whole chicken in a large pot. Add enough water to cover. Add garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper. Cover pot and bring to a rolling boil over medium high heat.

Lower heat to medium low and let chicken simmer for 3 to 3 1/2 hours to make a nice, rich chicken stock. Remove chicken from pot and strain broth.

Return broth to medium high heat and add celery and carrots. Bring to a low boil and cook for about 20 minutes or until celery and carrots are tender.

Finely dice chicken breast until you have about 1 cup chicken. Save the rest of the cooked chicken for another recipe. Ideally, you do not want chunks of chicken for this recipe, so dice and shred the chicken. Add to the soup. Stir in rice and cook an additional 20–25 minutes or until the rice is done.

Remove from heat and let cool a bit. Stir with a wooden spoon to cool the soup slightly.

Juice lemons and remove seeds; set aside in a bowl.

Separate the eggs. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. With the beater running, pour in yolks and mix lightly. Pour 1/2 cup hot broth into the beaten eggs and stir.

Keep stirring while you add the lemon juice. While stirring the broth (you may need to enlist someone’s help with this), slowly pour in egg-lemon mixture. Stir gently, you want the eggs to stay on top.

Cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes over low heat. Sprinkle some black pepper on top. Serve and enjoy!