This is a seriously delicious soup, traditionally eaten at Easter in Greece. However, since I'm not one for tradition, this is an all-year round food that is hearty and healthy. It's also dead simple to make.
To address the elephant in the room: yes, the ingredients, specifically the animal organs like liver, lungs, heart etc are not exactly mainstream, and the thought of eating or handling them can make some people feel squeamish. Believe me though, the taste more than makes up for it, and the texture is no different than regular pieces of meat once cooked in this manner.
You will need:
Ingredients:
1-1.5kg of mixed lamb organs (liver, lungs, heart, kidneys)
1/2 cup of soup rice
150gr of finely chopped dill
150gr of chopped spring onions
1 egg
1/5 cup of lemon juice
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
1 beef stock cube
1 vegetable stock cube
Plenty of water
Pots and utensils:
A large pot
A ladle
Two empty cups
A hand mixer or fork
A cutting board and a sharp knife
Execution:
1) Chop the lamb organs into small pieces (roughly half an inch long and half an inch wide). This will be time consuming and by far the most squeamish part of the cook. A sharp knife will make this easier.
2) Add the olive oil in the pot and heat on high temp. Once hot, drop the meat inside and stir until it gets a nice brown colour (but not enough as to fry them or for them to gain a crust)
3) Add water to fill the pot, as well as a dash of salt and pepper and the stock cubes. Bring to boil in high heat.
4) Once the cubes are dissolved, fill 2/3 of a cup with the broth (make sure there are no solids in it, just broth). Put it aside and allow to cool until needed.
5) Add rice into the broth, and let boil until fully cooked (15-20 minutes)
6) Whisk the egg in a cup, add the lemon juice in it, and mix.
7) Add dill and spring onions in the broth and reduce heat to 2/3.
8) Wait for the dill and onions to become cooked and soft, and the broth to cool down a little (around 10 minutes). Yes, we are overcooking the rice at this point, and that's on purpose.
9) In the meantime, slowly incorporate the egg and lemon mix into the cup of broth we saved earlier while stirring it vigorously. If the cup of broth is too hot, or the egg is added too quickly, or you're not stirring while doing it, you'll end up with little visible pieces of cooked egg in the broth, which will affect both taste and texture adversely.
10) Once egg is fully incorporated into the cup of broth, repeat the process by incorporating the cup back in the pot. Same process: add slowly, and keep stirring. This is known as αυγολέμονο (av-gho-leh-mo-noh) and is used in many greek foods. It is probably the most "technical" part of the recipe that can take some practice to get right, but is versatile.
11) Turn heat off, and allow soup to cool down a little. Serve as is (optionally, you can add more lemon juice, salt or pepper to taste). Καλή όρεξη (Kali orexi, aka bon appetit in Greek)!
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