I had always resisted making egg soup because I thought it would have the consistency of brothy scrambled eggs. Brothy scrambled eggs reminds me of something you’d find at a teamster’s all-you-can-buffet in a warehouse somewhere. But after making this delightful soup, I see once again how provincial my egg horizons have been all my life.
Egg lemon soup is surprisingly refreshing and comforting. It’s refreshing because it’s loaded with bright and sunny lemon juice, and comforting because the risotto rice and whisked eggs give it a silky body; this soup isn’t watery at all. Jake gulped down a bowl, ate 1/2 a pan of Super Nachos, then guzzled another bowl. Super Nachos and Egg Lemon Soup go together like a Twinkie with a cigarette, so this gives you an idea how yummy this soup was.
To make: First, I poured 5 cups of homemade chicken stock into a saucepan, brought it to an almost boil and added 2/3 cups risotto rice, 1 diced celery stalk and 1 sliced carrot. I partially covered the pot and allowed to simmer for 20 minutes, then I turned the heat to low and added a lots of ground pepper and salt.
Next, I whisked together 2 eggs, 3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of grated lemon peel in a bowl. I gradually added 1 1/2 cups of hot stock from the soup and whisked it in to the egg-lemon concoction.
This step is important since whisking prevents the eggs from scrambling once they hit the hot soup. I then drizzled the stock egg lemon mixture into the bowl of soup.
I continued to whisk the soup for 30 seconds or so to make doubly sure the eggs didn’t have a chance to scramble. I also made sure to keep the heat very low.
Ladle soup into a bowl and top with fresh, chopped parsley (I still have parsley growing in my herb garden and it was 22 degrees today!!) and scallions. Delicious, unusual, easy!
Two more eggs down, thousands more to go.
[Recipe adapted from Mark Bittman's The Best Recipes in the World]
All original content © 2012 by Jessie Knadler