Chicken Soup With Leeks and Lemon

This is inspired by both the classic Greek soup avgolemono and Scottish cockaleekee. Start with a flavorful chicken or turkey broth, simmer leeks and rice or bulgur in the soup until tender, then enrich with eggs and lemon. The trick here is to begin with a flavorful stock and not to allow the eggs to curdle when you combine the soup and the avgolemono sauce. You can make a vegetarian version of this using a garlic broth or by making a robust vegetable stock using the dark leafy parts of the leeks.

Ingredients

• 2 quarts chicken or turkey stock, preferably homemade
• 1 pound leeks, white and light green parts only, cleaned and sliced thin
• ⅔ cup rice or coarse bulgur (to taste)
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• Fresh juice of 2 lemons, strained, or about 6 to 8 tablespoons, to taste
• Salt to taste
• Freshly ground pepper
• Chopped fresh parsley or dill for garnish

• Nutritional Information

  • Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

    291 calories; 7 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 40 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 14 grams protein; 133 milligrams cholesterol; 520 milligrams sodium

  Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
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Serves six

Preparation

1. Combine the stock and leeks, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer 20 minutes. Add the rice or bulgur, and continue to simmer until the grain is cooked through, 15 to 30 minutes. Taste and adjust salt.
2. Beat together the eggs and lemon juice until frothy in a medium bowl.
3. Just before serving, making sure that the broth isn’t boiling, gradually add 2 cups to the egg and lemon mixture while beating vigorously with a whisk to prevent the eggs from curdling. Turn off the heat under the soup, pour the egg-lemon mixture into the soup, stir well and serve, adding a bit of pepper to each bowl and garnishing with chopped fresh parsley or dill.

• Advance preparation: You can make this soup through Step 1 several hours before serving, but the grain will continue to absorb liquid; if you do make it ahead, use 1/2 cup instead of 2/3 cup.

1 hour 10 minutes