Egg Lemon Soup (Avgolemono)

“Avgolemono” or egg-lemon soup in English is something that every Cypriot household makes. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s a soup well-loved by many. It’s a comforting soup. A soup made with a sort of frothy lemon flavoured broth. The typical ingredients being chicken and rice. It’s also a soup that is traditionally enjoyed around Easter. Or, in my case, when one is at home with a cold.

Colds. Bah Humbug. Wait, that’s for Christmas. But that’s how I feel about being sick. When I am sick, I feel like my cold is going to last forever. I can’t imagine being able to breathe through both nostrils. And I am so happy when – for brief moments – I CAN breathe through both nostrils. Hurray. I have my “cures” just like everyone else. I make soups, drink fruit juices, slather on Vicks’ Vapour Rub and watch Star Wars and try to channel the force to cure my cold. I’m not sure that any of my cures work, except the Star Wars one. (Ha).  Anyway, cold cure #23 was to make “avgolemono” soup.

Don’t you think that there is something to be said about having someone, like your mom, make you soup when you have a cold? There is that additional comfort factor that I think contributes to the healing process. Maybe it’s because I always remember my mom making this soup when I was a little girl. I remember she would always place these big bowls of “avgolemono” on the kitchen table and call us to sit down to eat our dinner. The soup was hot. But the egg was never curdled. My mom had her technique, like all moms do, which made the soup a gorgeous yellow colour.

We would slurp it all down – entirely unaware of the effort that goes into making such things. Anyway, one thing I love about “avgolemono” is the fact that you can make it as light or heavy as you wish. If you want it on the heavier side, add more chicken and rice. My cold is gone, but I still find myself craving “avgolemono” on cold days. It’s a good soup. And I hope you enjoy it.