Yum: Greek Lemon Rice Soup

I discovered the joy that is Greek lemon rice soup when I was in high school. My best friend and I were addicted and we were forever hitting up the Greek restaurants and eating this soup...and dolmadakia, I'm pretty sure I could live off of dolmadakia and lemon rice soup, but I digress. You can imagine my joy when I finally found a recipe that showed just how easy and affordable it is to make this soup. I've since lost the recipe because I know it by heart, so I thought I would share it here.

You'll need:

• Chicken broth (3 liters)
• Rice (1 cup)
• Egg yolks (5-6)
• Cooked chicken (2 skinless breasts)
• Freshly lemon juice (1 large lemon + more if you want)

Back in the States I really liked the flavor of the free-range, low-sodium broth (2 of those boxes and 4 egg yolks), but they don't have that here in Germany (at least in my area). Here I just get a little yellow jar of chicken bouillon; it actually has some kind of seasonings mixed in that my husband really likes, so hey, whatever.

Boil the chicken broth and add the rice. While that cooks, poach the chicken in a small pan of water. Any fat from the chicken will float on top of the water, so skim that off with a spoon. As the pots simmer away, juice your lemon and separate your egg yolks. I like to use the remaining egg whites for omelets or meringue cookies. Whisk together the yolks and the juice in a small bowl and set aside.

Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the water, chop or shred it into small pieces, and add to the broth mixture. Let it all stew together for a few minutes, or until the rice is cooked. Then turn the heat low; once the broth is no longer boiling, ladle some into the yolk/juice mixture and whisk together. Pour this mixture into the soup pot and stir it around. You should see a nice yellow color come into the soup. Warm it for a bit (but don't boil) and then it's ready to eat.

I find this takes me about 30 minutes. It keeps for a few days on the stove and warms up quickly. We like to eat it with bread and a salad.

I never seem to get a decent photo of this soup; I do love the bright yellow of the yolks and lemon juice, though, so I figured I'd let the post go with that! Maybe one day I'll update it...

Any other fans of Greek lemon rice soup out there?