Q: I tasted the most amazing soup at Cosmopolitan restaurant on Delk Road in Marietta. The owner said it was his mother's recipe, so I don't know if they'll share. It's Greek, has chicken, rice and lemon and is called Avgolemono Soup. I've baked chicken with lemon juice in the past and finds it brings out the chicken's flavor wonderfully, but have never had (or even heard of) lemon soup before. Pure yum. If you could get the recipe so I could try making it at home, I'd be grateful. — Wendy Kalman, Marietta
A: Johnny Esposito, Cosmopolitan's owner, was, as it turns out, happy to share the recipe for this classic Greek soup. The chicken broth is housemade using chicken breasts cooked in water that has been seasoned with salt and pepper. The chicken is cooked until tender and then the chicken and the broth are used in the soup.
One note when making the soup – be sure to warm the lemon-egg mixture as instructed in the recipe before adding it to the big pot of soup or you risk having a soup flecked with bits of scrambled egg.
Cosmopolitan’s Lemon Pepper Chicken Soup
12 cups water
3 (8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup rice
4 eggs
Juice of 4 lemons
Chopped parsley and additional lemon for garnish
In a large stockpot, bring water to a boil and add chicken. Season cooking water with salt and pepper and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook chicken until done. Remove chicken from stock and allow to cool, then shred. Set aside and keep warm.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and lemon juice. Set aside.
Strain the chicken broth and return it to the stockpot. Bring to a simmer, add rice and cook just until rice is done. Do not overcook. When rice is tender, add 1/2 cup soup to the egg mixture and whisk to warm the eggs. Add another half cup and whisk again. Then whisk all the egg mixture into the soup. Taste for seasoning, adding plenty of black pepper. Add reserved chicken and serve. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve additional lemon on the side. Makes: 15 cups
Per 1-cup serving: 94 calories (percent of calories from fat, 19), 13 grams protein, 6 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 2 grams fat (1 gram saturated), 83 milligrams cholesterol, 60 milligrams sodium.
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