Avgolemono: Greek Lemon Chicken (or not) Soup

1) Two quarts broth: chicken (for the heathens) or vegetable (for the pure-of-heart)

2) ½ cup of white rice

3) Chopped boneless skinless chicken or frozen fake chicken.  This is optional. With it, the soup becomes a more hearty main dish, but it is not traditional. Either skinless, boneless 2 half breasts, or 4 thighs works. For vegetarians, use a couple of the pseudo-chicken cutlets, which I think vaguely resemble cardboard, but can be nice when disguised in soups.

4) Salt and pepper

5) Juice of one fair sized lemon, or two small lemons

6) 3 eggs

Boil the stock and add the rice, and the chicken if you are going to, and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Whisk the eggs and lemon juice. Slowly stir in a few ladles full of the hot chicken stock, one at a time, beating all the while, so you don’t scramble the eggs; when the egg mixture is warm and thinned with broth, pour it into the soup pot. Season with salt and pepper and simmer until the broth begins to thicken. Serve garnished with paprika, parsley or thin slices of lemon, if you like, because each is beautiful.

Sky and I make some music for an Avgolemono sort of evening: 

Stirring this soup stirs memories of my only trip to Greece, a hard work trip to learn about the dark sweep of epidemics, but a rare and magical time around the edges of the work.  Here is the first hour: 

It began with me tired and dazed, waking up in the plane as it shifted into a landing mode. Out my window the full moon was just rising over the hills above Athens, large and golden, just up. From the sky, Athens seemed a surprisingly small city, a city with edges, bounded by beautiful hills, well suited to moonlight.  I got out of the plane, and enjoyed the Greek letters everywhere, feeling like I was the swimming through one very old and sweet equation. There's rho!  Look, a delta!  Dignified old friends, messengers that we use to express our most basic understanding of how the Universe works, here just being used to get me to the baggage claim.

My Cab Driver shouted comfortably to me in Greek the whole way from the airport to the hotel, sweeping gestures, sharing the sites.  I knew very little about what I saw.  But I did recognize the Acropolis, lit up at night, on a hilltop, in the middle of everything, looking far grander than I had imagined.  I was taken aback by the size of it. The rumors are all true. It is beautiful.

We also saw some very large pillars, which seemed to be the Temple of Zeus, as far as I could make out.  "Zeus!  Zeus!!!  Greek Greek Greek Zeus!" shouted the Cab Driver.

Then I also saw what I think was the police station, a local hospital, a shopping mall  "Shop! Shop!!!  Greek Greek Greek Shop!" the American embassy, a statue of Harry Truman "American presidente! Harry Truman! Harry Truman, Truman!!!!" something called the Plaka, which inspired both more "shop shop shop!" and  "restaurante!"  I saw an Olympic stadium (new) and some other kind of grand stadium (very very old). The Cab Driver clearly loved it all!  I saw many other curious and delightful things, but I have no idea if the Cab Driver really intended me to take note of the metro entrance, what appeared to be a mailbox, a tree, or if he was grandly gesturing at something else.

"Its all Greek to me..."  I said to him at one point. Couldn't resist. He beamed at me in the rear view mirror and shouted back something affirmative, mysterious and wonderful. "Greek greek greeeeek!!!!!!!!"  He liked it when I piped up.

I tried to get him to teach me how to say thank you, we practiced a bit, and I couldn't quite get it; so I looked it up on the web when I got to my room.  No wonder, it’s hard "Efharisto".

First practice: epharisto, epharisto, epharisto...

Then room service delivered: Avgolemono, cheese and bread, a glass of white wine. A rose.

Then I put to good use my first lesson, “Epharisto.” Indeed.