Winter is the time for comfort food and easy recipes. Especially if you “like” cooking as much as I do.
Truth be told, I am always looking for the easiest possible recipes that need minimum effort and time to prepare.
Giouvarlakia Avgolemono is definitely one of them.
Very traditional, full of aromas and delicious. Popular for everyone in Greece and especially loved by children.
Mostly prepared and served during the winter months since soups of all kinds are not considered a summer dish in the country.
Ingredients
For the Giouvarlakia
- 500 gr of Minced Beef
- 1 Medium Sized Red or White Onion Finely Chopped
- 1/4 Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/4 Cup of Rise for Soups
- 2 tbsp. Finely Chopped Dill
- 2 tbsp. Finely Chopped Parsley
- Salt to Taste
- Freshly Grounded Pepper to Taste
- All-purpose Flour
For the Soup
- 4 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1½ Litter of Hot Water
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Medium Sized Lemons
- Freshly Grounded Pepper
- Finely Chopped Dill
Instructions
Preparation of the meat and rice balls
- In a large bowl, mix the minced meat with the onion, egg, rice, parsley, dill, olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Use your hands to mix all the ingredients well until they are well combined.
- Shape the mix into small balls. A bit smaller of the usual size of traditional meatballs.
- Flour the giouvarlakia and place them on a large tray or plate.
Preparation of the Soup
- Put the water in a large pot or saucepan.
- Add the olive oil.
- When the Simmering point is reached, add one by one the little balls paying extra attention so they won’t break apart.
- Let it simmer for about 20 minutes.
Final Steps – Approximately 5 minutes before the end of cooking time
- Add the Eggs to a large bowl and beat them lightly using a hand whisk.
- Add the juice of the two lemons and continue beating lightly with the hand-whisk.
- With a ladle add very slowly some of the soup (liquid only) to the mix. Depending on the temperature you may need to do the same action 2 or 3 times. The aim is to bring the egg-lemon mix to a similar temperature to the one in the cooking pot.
- Remove the saucepan from the cooking ring/zone.
- Add the mix and stir by just moving the pan.
- Let it rest for a few minutes.
