Greek Avgolemono Soup

The only bad thing I have to say about this soup is the spelling of the name.  Isn’t it anxiety-inducing? I have to say that even as a person with a pretty high aptitude for spelling/reading/pronunciation, this one stumps me. I wonder how many people don’t order this soup at restaurants because they don’t want to say it out loud.

I think, THINK, it is pronounced a-vo-lem-en-o.

Anyway, wow! Love this soup and it’s so easy. This is a simple version, as I think some versions can take hours and hours. I truly can't imagine what happens during those hours to make it that much better, although I love the idea of living in a small seaside town in Greece spending my days eating Tzatziki sauce and making Avgolemono soup.

Recipe

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 5-6 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup orzo
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 3 large eggs
• Dill, for garnish  

Cook the onions in oil until cooked through. Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil, and add the orzo.  Cook the orzo according to instructions (bring down the boil once it's done).  Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the lemon juice.  Once the pasta is cooked and the heat is on low, you will need to temper the eggs before adding to the broth.  Slowly add a couple ladle fulls of broth into the egg mixture, whisking constantly.  Turn off the heat for the soup.  Slowly whisk the tempered eggs into the broth. Keep heat on low and do not boil the soup again (this will cause the eggs to clump up - it will still taste fine but will look more like greek egg drop soup).  Season with pepper, serve, and top with fresh dill.