Chicken Youvarlakia with Avgolemono (κοτοπουλο γιουβαρλακια με αυγολεμονο)

There has been an outbreak of man flu in our house. The only way to contain the outbreak and bring a little warm cheer to the house (especially with the heavy relentless rain in Sydney this weekend) was with this delicious soup.

'Youvarlakia' is made with little herb, rice and vegetable filled meatballs, warming home made chicken broth and nourishing avgolemono (egg and lemon sauce). Normally the meatballs are made with beef, however I like to make a variation using chicken - so much so that this soup is very similar to the traditional kotosoupa avgolemono, but with meatballs instead of shredded chicken. In some regions of Greece, this soup is made using a tomato base - but I am a much bigger fan of the avglolemono version, which works so well with the fresh dill in the meatballs.

Chicken Youvarlakia with Avgolemono (κοτοπουλο γιουβαρλακια με αυγολεμονο)

The meatballs

500gr ground chicken
¼ cup rice
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 small carrot, grated
1 medium onion, grated
1 tablespoon of fresh parsley, chopped (plus extra for garnish)
2 tablespoons of fresh dill, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1.5 litres of homemade chicken stock (I use the same as for my kotosoupa)

Method:

Step1. In a bowl mix the chicken, rice, olive oil, carrot, onion, dill and parsley. Knead well and form into small golf ball sized meatballs. Allow to chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Step 2. Pour the chicken stock into a large pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the meatballs carefully to the simmering stock and cook for about 30 min.

For the avgolemono sauce:
1 egg yolk
juice from 2 lemons

Method:

Step 1. In a heat proof bowl, beat the whole egg yolk, gradually adding the lemon juice, until well combined.

Step 2. Gradually add a few tablespoons of hot broth from the soup pot to the egg mixture, whisking very quickly.

Step 3. Remove soup pot from the heat and add the egg-lemon sauce to the hot meatballs and stock. Shake the pan gently to distribute the sauce. Serve hot.