Egg-lemon soup

Yesterday I had plans for this post.  I was jazzed to write about the beautiful farmer's market lunch I put together with Amherst friends.  I was ready to rhapsodize about the beauty of seasonal vegetables, to describe the messy murder of a pomegranate that took place in my boyfriend's kitchen.  I had photos taken, cute turns of phrase lined up.  Yesterday, I was all set.

But that post will have to wait for another day.  Today I have a cold, I'm home sick from work, and all I can think about is soup.

Growing up, my family's chosen healing balm was matzo ball soup with homemade broth.  There's a reason American Jews refer to the stuff as penicillin--it's truly a cure for what ails.  But frankly, it's a pain and a half to make, and every family recipe worth its salt results in enough food to feed an army of invalids.  For little ol' me, alone in my apartment with a nest of tissues slowly accumulating around me on the couch, fast and easy is the order of the day.

Today, I could have just heated up a carton of chicken broth on the stove, maybe tossed in a handful of rice, and called it a day.  But anyone who's done that knows it's not really a meal.  You get to the bottom of the bowl and sit back, unsatisfied.  I wanted something a little more substantial and protein-rich, yet still brothy and calming--something that I could sip straight from the bowl.  And I wanted to be able to put it together in five minutes flat.  My solution: egg-lemon soup.

Egg-lemon soup, or avgolemono, is a traditional Greek dish of broth and rice or small pasta, enriched with beaten egg and lemon juice.  It's perfect for a sick day, or a snow day, or any other time you want something simple and filling without going to the store.  The ingredients are things you (should) already have on hand.  The only step more complicated than making, say, a package of ramen is that you have to temper the eggs--whisk them with a little hot broth before adding them to the soup, to prevent them from clumping.  It requires a bit of patience, but no real skill, and you end up with a smooth, tangy, protein-rich restorative.

I just finished the last of my little soup batch, and it's amazing how much better I feel.  When I'm recovered, I'll write that post about bloody pomegranate murder; for now, it's naptime.

Egg-Lemon Soup (serves 2-4 healthy people, or one very hungry sick person)
4 cups (32 oz) chicken or vegetable broth
2 eggs
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup uncooked rice or small pasta like orzo (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the broth in a saucepan.  If using rice or orzo, add to the broth and simmer 4-5 minutes, or until cooked.  Remove broth and pasta from the heat.  Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat together eggs, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Ladle off about 1/2 cup of liquid from the soup pot, and whisk it a little at a time into the egg mixture, until the mixture is warm and slightly foamy.  Add the tempered eggs into the broth and pasta, stir to combine, and serve.