Paleo Avgolemono Soup
Some of you may have never heard of this delicious heart warming soup…some of you may know it very well. It’s amazing. My mom would always make it for us when we were sick growing up…which unfortunately was very often. It has just the right kick of lemon, light creaminess, and soul-warming goodness. I actually didn’t even know what it was called until my husband and I went to a Greek restaurant and had their soup as an appetizer. I couldn’t help but blurt out, “this is my mom’s chicken noodle soup!!” And bam just like that, I realized the home-cooked meal I was used to eating for years…is actually a staple of the Mediterranean. Who knew!
It’s actually quite easy to make. Try for yourself during these wintry sad months, and let me know what you think!
Active Time: 30 mins Yields: 5 servings
Per Serving: 189 cal 22.5 g protein 1.4 g fat 22.6 g carbs
Ingredients:
1 lb chicken tenderloins
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
4 oz cassava spaghetti (I use 1/2 a box from the Jovial brand found at Whole Foods or Giant)
2 lemons
1 egg
Directions:
1. Take one pot, place the chicken in it, season with salt and black pepper, then cover thoroughly with water (at least 4 cups) . Bring to a boil, then lower heat slightly and let it simmer for 8-10 minutes. As it boils, white foam will be produced; use a ladle to remove it as you see it or at the end.
2. While the chicken is boiling, take another pot of water and pour about 3 cups of water in it. Add some salt (about 1 tsp) and bring to a boil.
3. While you are waiting for it to boil, take the dry spaghetti and break each strand into thirds or fourths (doesn’t really matter, just for preference). You could even leave them as is, but traditional Avgolemono soup is made with very thin, short strips of basically Angel hair pasta. I take about 10 strands and break them all at once before moving to the next clump.
4. Once the water for the pasta has come to a boil, add the broken up spaghetti strands and let it cook al dente.* Then drain the pasta.
5. While the pasta is cooking, your chicken should be thoroughly cooked. Use a thermometer to check that it is near 160 degrees. Turn the burner off, take the chicken onto a chopping board, and use two forks to shred it.
6. Pour your shredded chicken back into the chicken broth. Add the cooked pasta to the same pot. Juice both lemons directly into the pot as well.
7. Whisk the egg thoroughly in another bowl. Thoroughly! You want as minimal of the egg white as possible to be seen. At this point, your pot of soup should be hot still, but not boiling. Add the whisked egg into the pot and stir. If the broth is too hot (boiling), your egg will scramble.
8. Bon apetite! Feel free to add more black pepper or lemon to taste.
*If you plan to serve the whole amount, al-dente should be sufficient for you. If you plan to use some for your meal prep, or for later meals, I recommend draining it slightly before al-dente, as the pasta will cook when you re-heat it (and this pasta becomes a tad mushy when overcooked). Now, I personally don’t mind when it’s a tad mushy in my soup, because it adds just some thickness to it without being a weird texture, but I know others may be picky!