Instant Pot Mini (3qt) Avgolemono Chicken Soup | Greek Egg-Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo

Creamy and lemony chicken soup with orzo hits the spot and is super easy to make in the Instant Pot. This makes enough for 3-4 generous servings, but you can double the recipe to make more in a 6qt pressure cooker.
BTW, this soup will thicken the longer it sits and it is absolutely luscious and silky the next day. Yum!

NOTES:
• FOAMING STARCH: Take caution when you release the pressure after cooking. You can start doing slow, controlled pressure release after about 15 minutes of NPR (natural release), but be careful of foaming up from the starchy orzo or rice. Because the liquid reaches almost to the max fill line and includes starches, a sudden pressure release will cause some of that foamy liquid to spurt out from the pressure valve. That’s why I recommend letting it release naturally on its own.
• TEMPERING EGGS: Cold eggs will curdle if added directly into hot liquid. So if you are using cold eggs, you will want to temper them by adding a scoop or two of the hot broth as you whisk with the lemon juice and corn starch in the mixing bowl before adding the eggs into the soup. I didn’t need to temper the eggs in the video because I used room temperature eggs which were diluted with enough lemon juice and the broth had cooled significantly during the natural pressure release.

#avgolemono #instantpot #chickensoup #orzo

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Instant Pot Duo Mini (3 Quart): https://amzn.to/2SxJo5d

Today’s Ingredients:
2 TB extra virgin olive oil
1 cup onion, small dice
1 cup celery, small dice
1 cup carrots, small dice
2 chicken thighs, ½”-1” dice (about 10-12 ozs total)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bay leaf
½ tsp salt, plus extra to taste
¼ tsp black pepper, plus extra to taste
5 cups chicken broth
½ cup uncooked orzo (or white rice if you prefer)

2 eggs yolks, room temperature
1 TB corn starch
½ cup lemon juice
fresh dill fronds for topping

Instructions:
1. Heat the pot on the highest sauté setting and add the olive oil when the display reads “HOT.” Add the onions, celery, and carrots and cook until just softened. This should take about 5 minutes, stirring once or twice.
2. Add the chicken, garlic, bay leaf, salt, and black pepper. Cook for a minute and stir to distribute the ingredients.
3. Add ½ cup of broth to deglaze the pot. Make sure to scrape up any stuck-on browned bits during this step to avoid a “BURN” warning later. Then add the remaining broth and stir to combine.
4. Layer the orzo (or rice) into the soup without stirring. This will help avoid pasta/rice sticking to the bottom of the pot.
5. Lock and seal the lid and cook on high for 3 minutes followed by a natural pressure release before reopening the lid. [See note above about foaming starch.] Remove and discard the the bay leaf.
6. In a small mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks, corn starch, and lemon juice until blended. [See note above about tempering eggs.] Pour the egg mixture into the soup while constantly stirring/whisking the soup. The soup will begin to thicken immediately.
7. Give it a taste test and add salt, pepper, or lemon juice as needed.
8. Serve with fresh dill over the top and ENJOY!