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Ingredients
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Soup
Egg-Lemon (Avgolemono) Emulsion
Finish & Garnish
Method
Soup
Make the broth
Place the chicken and cold water in a large pot. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-high heat. Skim any foam that rises to the surface with a spoon. Reduce heat to maintain a low simmer.
Remove chicken and strain broth
Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a plate. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pot or bowl, discarding solids. Measure and reserve 1 cup of the hot broth; cool that cup to room temperature or chill briefly in the refrigerator to use for tempering the eggs. Return the remaining strained hot broth to the pot and keep at low heat.
Shred chicken
When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove skin and bones and shred the meat into bite-sized pieces. Discard bones and skin.
Cook the orzo
Bring the reserved hot broth in the pot to a gentle simmer. Add the orzo and simmer until tender, about 8–10 minutes (or cook rice 15–18 minutes if using rice). Taste and add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt as needed.
Egg-Lemon (Avgolemono) Emulsion
Whisk eggs and lemon
In a medium bowl, vigorously whisk the eggs until smooth. Whisk in the fresh lemon juice until fully combined.
Temper the eggs
Slowly pour the 1 cup of reserved slightly cooled broth into the egg-lemon mixture in a steady thin stream while continuously whisking. This gradually raises the temperature of the eggs and prevents curdling. Continue until the tempered mixture is warm to the touch and smoothly combined.
Finish the soup with the emulsion
With the pot of hot broth and cooked orzo off the heat (or over the lowest heat), slowly whisk 1/2 cup of the hot broth into the tempered egg-lemon mixture to further warm it. Then very slowly pour the egg-lemon mixture into the pot while stirring the broth constantly. Heat gently for 1–2 minutes without boiling — the soup should thicken slightly and become silky. If the soup looks too thick, stir in up to 1/2 cup additional hot broth to reach desired consistency.
Finish & Serve
Add chicken and season
Stir the shredded chicken into the finished avgolemono and warm through for 1–2 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper as needed.