Sunday, February 8, 2009

Lemon Soup


Trying to make some soup over here, and not having a whole lot of luck.

The roasted vegetable variety I made recently had great flavor, but was too watery.

The potato-cheese recipe, from one of my favorite food writers, tasted terrific, but was so thick that after about five slurps I wondered if anyone had ever actually died of soup choking. After a whole bowlful, I figured someone could throw me over the side of a boat and I'd make a fine anchor.

The recipe I tried this afternoon, for lemon soup, had a lovely lemony flavor that I really liked. But it, too, had problems with consistency.

The directions said to stir over low heat until thickened. Maybe it's all in your definition of "thick" but mine never seemed to progress much past a slightly heavy broth stage.

Here is the recipe, for those of us with excess lemons who are not too picky about our soup's thickness. I suppose you could always stir a tablespoon or so of cornstarch into a tablespoon of water, slurry it around, and add it to the broth at the start.
And if anyone has any soup advice, I'd love to hear it. I'm about ready to head back to Campbell's.

LEMON SOUP
4 c. chicken broth
4 eggs
4 T. lemon juice
1 lemon, sliced, for garnish
In medium saucepan, bring broth to boiling. In medium bowl, whisk together eggs with a wire whisk until light. Add lemon juice. Add half of hot broth, stirring well. Return lemon/egg broth to pan and (here's the part that drives me crazy) stir over low heat until thickened. WHEN?!? Just WHEN will that be?! Perhaps sometime in October?
Grrrrr.
OK, I've stopped now. I'm stopping.

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4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Here's a family recipe you might like--and a cheater version too!

Avgolemogno
Soup (Greek Egg and Lemon Soup)

1 roaster/stewing chicken 1 onion
2 cloves garlic 1 carrot
1 celery stalk 1 bunch fresh dill
Poultry seasoning Salt and pepper
1 bay leaf 2 cups Orzo
Juice of 3-5 lemons 3 eggs

In large pot, cover chicken with water. Add all spices and aromatics. Simmer until chicken falls off bone. Take chicken meat off bone and break into bite size pieces. Strain vegetables and bay leaf out of broth, add chicken meat back and bring back to a boil. Add orzo to boiling broth. Cook for 12 minutes, or until tender.
Blenderize eggs and lemon juice. SLOWLY add 2 cups of broth to frothy eggs, ¼ cup at a time. When tempered, add egg/lemon/broth mixture back to pot of chicken and broth. Remove soup from heat. Do not re-boil! Serve warm, or the next day cold.

Cheater Version

5 cans chicken broth 1 cup Orzo
5 eggs 3 lemons

Open 5 cans of chicken broth. Boil. Add one cup of orzo and cook for 12 min. Take all off of the stove. Beat 5 eggs until frothy; add juice of 3 lemons to broth. Add several ladles of broth to egg mixture all the while using a blender. Then put the egg mixture back into the broth pot. DO NOT LET IT BOIL AGAIN!!!!!! If you let the soup sit for a few hours it will get very thick and the flavors will blend.

February 9, 2009 at 10:03 AM  
Blogger Lynn said...

Thanks so much, wheatcakes! This sounds really good. Love those "cheater version" options, too. OK, you've inspired me not to give up on the soup yet.

February 9, 2009 at 1:24 PM  
Blogger John and Lisa said...

Don't give up on soup! It's one of our family's favorite foods. I've posted one of our favorites, Hunt Chowder at http://elbowsonourtable.blogspot.com/2008/09/soups-on.html and I plan to post a recipe for Poblano Cheese soup soon. Both are pretty hearty. Your lemon soup looks very interesting. Quite a different taste for this midwesterner, but I think I'll give it a try!

February 10, 2009 at 8:24 AM  
Blogger Lynn said...

Thanks, Lisa, for the soup encouragement. I will check out your chowder recipe, and look forward to reading about the cheese soup soon.

February 10, 2009 at 1:37 PM  

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