Avgolemono-Inspired Lemon Chicken Spinach Soup

Ingredients

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

5 garlic cloves, minced

3 medium carrots, finely chopped

1 large leek, finely chopped

10 cups unsalted chicken stock

⅔ cup dry jasmine rice

½ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)

2 large eggs

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill

4 cups loosely packed spinach, stems removed

1 rotisserie chicken, meat picked and shredded into bite-size pieces (about 14 ounces)

2 tsp kosher salt

Cracked black pepper, for serving (optional)

Directions

Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium heat.

Add garlic, carrots, and leek to pan; cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are soft and aromatic.

Add chicken stock to vegetables and increase heat to medium-high; bring to a boil.

Add rice and reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring occasionally, until rice is nearly done, about 20 minutes.

Whisk together lemon juice and eggs in medium bowl.

Slowly pour 1 cup of hot broth into egg mixture, whisking constantly, then pour egg mixture back into pan, stirring.

Add dill, spinach, chicken, and salt; allow spinach to wilt and soup to heat back up, about 10 minutes.

Sprinkle with black pepper, if desired. Serve.

Notes

When we used Meyer lemon juice, the flavor from the lemon/egg mixture wasn't as tangy as we were expecting, so we added some additional lemon juice at the end of cook time.
When using already cooked rice, skip that part of Step 4, and add it at the end with the dill, chicken, and spinach.
- Two cups of cooked rice seems to be a decent amount to go along with the rest of the ingredients.