Title: Koto Supa Avgolemono (Chicken Egg-Lemon Soup)
Categories: Soup Poultry Jewish Israel Greek
Yield: 6 Servings

1		Whole (3 lb) chicken, loose skin and fat discarded
8	c	Water
		Several whole sprigs flat leaf parsley
1	md	Onion, peeled
1	ts	Salt
1/3	c	Raw rice, well rinsed
2		Eggs
2		Lemon's juice
2	ts	Cornstarch, dissolved in
3	tb	Cold water
		Parsley, chopped pepper, ground

Egg-Lemon Soup w/chicken (I have also had it w/a lamb base) is probably most typical if not national soup of Greece. It has worked its way into Jewish kitchens & a friend in Athens told me that in her family it always broke fast at end of Yom Kippur. One can only hope that following recipe helps it achieve status of culinary icon in American kitchen, since it is a classic.

1. Put whole chicken, water, parsley sprigs, onion, and salt in a large pan and bring to a boil. Spoon off and discard foam that accumulates. Cover pan and let soup simmer over moderate heat for 45 mins, long enough to create a broth and tenderized the chicken. Remove chicken and parsley, cut meat off bones, discard bones, and cut meat into cubes. Set aside.

2. Add rice to broth and continue to cook for 10 mins. Remove onion, mash it well, and return it to soup.

3. Beat eggs; slowly add lemon juice and cornstarch mixture while continuing to beat. Turn off heat under soup. Take 1 cup of hot soup and add it tablespoon by tablespoon to eggs, beating all time until whole cup has been incorporated.

4. Add egg-lemon mixture to pot, stirring into soup in same direction as you have beaten eggs. This is to prevent eggs from curdling.

5. Add several cubes of cooked chicken per person to soup pot -- a taste of chicken per each serving. Serve hot, garnished w/chopped parsley and pepper to taste.

Recipe: "Sephardic Cooking" by Copeland Mark -- 600 Recipes Created in Exotic Sephardic Kitchens from Morocco to India -- C. 1992 Published by Donald I. Fine, Inc., New York, N.Y. D. Pileggi

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