Greek Lemon Chicken (Print Version)
# Ingredients:
→ Base items
01 -
Two chicken breasts, around 12 oz or 350 g in total, great for shredding.
02 -
Six cups of chicken broth (1.5 liters), either homemade or quality store-bought, which brings the dish together.
03 -
Three-fourths of a cup of orzo (175 g), that little pasta shaped like rice, perfect for thickening.
→ Veggies & aromatics
04 -
One medium carrot, finely chopped into small bits.
05 -
A small-to-medium onion, diced into small chunks.
06 -
Two or three stalks of celery, chopped nice and small.
07 -
Two to three garlic cloves, either minced or finely cut.
08 -
A good handful of fresh dill, for that Greek flair.
→ Avgolemono mix
09 -
Two egg yolks, brought to room temperature.
10 -
Juice squeezed from one big lemon.
→ Pantry staples
11 -
A tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.
12 -
Two dried bay leaves.
13 -
Freshly cracked black pepper and sea salt, based on your taste.
# Instructions:
01 -
Heat up the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, carrot, and celery while stirring occasionally. Cook for about 8 to 10 minutes until everything's softened and smells amazing.
02 -
Add chopped garlic and let it cook for just a minute until the fragrance kicks in. Toss in the bay leaves, place the chicken breasts into the pot, and pour in the chicken stock.
03 -
Bring to a boil gently, then drop the heat to medium-low. Cover and let it simmer for about 15 minutes, so the chicken cooks through.
04 -
Take the bay leaves and chicken breasts out of the pot. Add the orzo into the broth and let it simmer for around 10 minutes until it's cooked just right.
05 -
As the orzo cooks, shred the chicken with two forks into small pieces, then put it back into the pot.
06 -
Whisk together the egg yolks and lemon juice in a bowl, getting them nice and smooth. Gently mix in one or two ladles of hot broth, whisking constantly so the eggs don’t cook. Pour everything back into the pot and let it cook for five more minutes to thicken up.
07 -
Stir in fresh dill and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. Dish it out into bowls, maybe sprinkle extra dill on top if you’d like, and serve warm.
# Notes:
01 -
This beloved dish from Greece gets its creamy character from a mix of eggs and lemon juice called avgolemono.
02 -
Be sure to slowly mix the hot broth into the egg-lemon blend so the mixture doesn’t clump up.