When I began dreaming up today’s recipe, nighttime temps were still in the 30s and a sudden hail storm had just left a crunchy white blanket of icy orbs glistening on the ground. Soup seemed like a swell idea—especially one that involved the optimistically spring-scented flavors of lamb, lemon and fresh herbs.
Fickle, fickle April.
When I re-tested the recipe this week, the mercury had risen above 80 and I worried for a second that no one would want soup this weekend. I consoled myself with two simple facts: One, it’ll be dipping back down to the 50s over the next few days and two, this soup has a bright, refreshing, herbaceous quality that makes it appealing almost any time of year. It’s also quick cooking rather than slow simmering, so you won’t be steaming up the kitchen for long.
This recipe is an obvious riff on the crowd-pleasing Greek favorite, avgolemono. The base is the same—lemony soup made velvety with the addition of beaten egg. Here, I’ve added little garlicky lamb meatballs in lieu of shredded chicken, and instead of adding rice to the soup, I’ve used a small amount of it in the meat mixture. Of course you could always make the soup more filling by stirring in cooked rice or orzo at the end, and if you’re not a lamb lover, the meatballs can be made with ground turkey. (Or heck, just use shredded chicken.)
The Technique
The technique for achieving the broth’s silky texture—and not turning it into egg drop soup—is called tempering, and I walk you through it in the recipe below. (I advise, as always, that you read through the whole thing before beginning.) Tempering means raising the temperature of a cool, temperamental ingredient by slowly introducing a hot one. In this case, you add hot broth to a mixture of beaten egg and lemon juice before adding it to the pot of hot broth.
There’s a video of me making a more classic version of avgolemono on YouTube from about a thousand years ago. In it, I’m in my dream kitchen, in my dream house, at a dreamy moment in time that now feels a little like I might have dreamed it.
I think the video took off—it somehow garnered over 25,000 views—because I showed how quick and simple the recipe can be. Watching it will demystify the alchemic process by which broth becomes silky and seemingly creamy without the addition of cream. When I re-watched it today I was shocked that I poured the hot broth right into the beaten egg in one fell swoop rather than going slowly, as I advise. Clearly it worked, but I don’t recommend it!
Make the soup and let me know in the comments if you achieved that velvety consistency, if you have any questions, or if there are other techniques you’d like to learn.
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Greek-Style Soup With Meatballs
The recipe calls for cooked rice in the meatball mixture. If you don’t have cooked rice, then your first step is to make some.
Yields 4 servings of soup, each with 4 meatballs.
¼ cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons milk
12 ounces ground lamb
½ cup finely chopped fresh dill, divided
½ cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves, divided
2–3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup cooked rice
¼ teaspoon cumin
3 eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest, divided
¾ teaspoon salt, plus more as needed
Freshly ground pepper
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
¼ cup fresh lemon juice, plus more as needed
2 cups baby spinach (or regular spinach leaves torn into bite-size pieces)
For garnish: chopped fresh dill and mint, and lemon slices
In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs and milk. In a larger bowl, combine lamb, ¼ cup of the chopped dill, ¼ cup of the chopped mint, garlic, cooked rice, cumin, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon of the lemon zest, ¾ teaspoon salt, and about 10 grindings of black pepper. Add breadcrumbs and mix until everything’s incorporated—don’t overwork the mixture. With wet hands, form into 16 one-ounce meatballs, placing them on a plate or small baking tray.
Heat broth until barely boiling. Add meatballs, lower the heat, and simmer 15–20 minutes, partially covered, until they are cooked through. Use a slotted spoon to remove them to a plate. Skim any scum off the top of the broth.
To temper the eggs so they don’t scramble or curdle in the hot broth: Beat 2 eggs in a medium-size bowl that you’ve placed on a kitchen towel (so the bowl won’t skid around the counter). Whisk in the lemon juice. Ladle one cup of hot (not boiling) broth into a measuring cup that has a spout. While continuing to whisk the eggs vigorously, drizzle the broth very slowly into the egg mixture, a little at a time, until broth and egg are combined. Slowly add egg/broth mixture back to the pot. Stir and taste for seasoning, adding salt, pepper, and additional lemon juice as desired.
Return meatballs to the broth, add remaining zest and the spinach and simmer gently (do not boil1) while stirring, until spinach is wilted but still bright green, about a minute. Serve immediately, garnished with lots of dill and mint. Serve with lemon slices if desired.
This goes for reheating too—don’t let the soup boil, or you might find yourself with egg drop soup after all.
Looks delicious!