One of hubby’s favourite soups. If you already know the greek soup “avgolemoni” then, you can assume how delicious this is (although admittedly not very instagramable!). When I posted “youvarlakia” in instagram stories, I never imagined so many of you would ask for the recipe.
The combination of chicken broth, rice, eggs and lemon is a taste I grew up with. The addition of meatballs makes this recipe more Greek than Cypriot, especially if you add the dill which makes a huge difference to the aroma and taste.
Eggs and lemon make the soup creamy and wonderful. It is sometimes tricky to temper the eggs so as to prevent them from curdling. One trick I learned, is to add a tiny bit of cornflour to the egg mixture. This prevents curdling and also, allows for reheating.
Youvarlakia – Greek soup with meatballs
Ingredients
For meatballs:
- 500 grams beef mince
- 70 grams carolina rice
- 40 grams olive oil extra virgin
- 180 grams onion grated
- 20 grams parsley chopped
- 2 Tbsp chopped dill
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
For the soup:
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 potato diced
- 1 leek chopped
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 celery stick sliced
- 1.5 lt water
- 1 chicken stock cube
- 1 Tbsp parsley chopped
- 1 Tbsp dill chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 lemons juiced
- 1 Tbsp cornflour
- 3 large eggs
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together for the meatballs. For best results leave mixture covered in the fridge overnight.
- Shape mixture into walnut sized balls (about 24 meatballs).
- To make the soup, heat olive oil in a large pot and cook all veggies until beginning to color. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the water and the chicken stock cube. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
- Transfer meatballs in soup. Cook without stirring for 30 minutes. Add the parsley and dill.
- Make the “avgolemono”. Mix lemon juice and cornflour. In a heatproof bowl, whisk eggs until frothy. Whisk in lemon juice mixture and 2 ladles hot soup. Transfer egg-lemon mixture into soup. Swirl pot to distribute evenly, or stir gently with a spatula. Serve warm.
