Yοuvarlakia Avgolemono – Meatballs Soup

 

Meatballs Soup with egg-lemon sauce, also known as Yοuvarlakia avgolemono is an easy but delicious Greek dish. It’s a winter dish. The secret of the recipe is the egg-lemon sauce, which gives a nice texture and flavor.

What you will need:

for the meatballs (youvarlakia):

• 500 gr minced beef
• 1/2 cup rice (Carolina) washed and drained in a colander
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 4 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped (optional)
• 3/4 cup olive oil + 4 tablespoons extra
• 4-6 cups water or broth
• salt, pepper
• 1/2 cup flour (optional)

for the egg-lemon sauce

• 2 eggs
• juice of 1-2 lemons (more to taste)
• broth from the pot

 

 

 

the recipe step by step:

 

1. Start by making the meatballs (youvarlakia). Place into a large bowl the meatballs ingredients (minced beef, rice, onions, egg, parsley, dill, 4 tablespoons olive oil, salt, pepper).

 

 

2. Knead the mixture with your hand until combined.

 

 

 

 

3. Form the mixture into small balls.

 

 

 

 

4. Roll them into the flour (shaking off any excess flour) and set them aside.

 

 

 

 

 

5. In a large sauce pan pour the water or broth, the olive oil, salt and pepper. Cover and bring to the boil.

 

 

6. Turn the heat down and gently add the meatballs in the stock, cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes. (The water should be enough to cover the meatballs, adding more warm water if needed).

Once the meat is cooked, remove the pot from the heat.

 

7. Prepare the egg-lemon sauce as follows:

Crack and separate the eggs. Put the white in a deep glass bowl and the yolks in a small saucer.

 

 

 

8. Whisk the whites well.

 

 

 

 

9. Whisking adds into the bowl the yolks and the lemon juice.

 

 

 

 

10. Whisking add slow ladles of hot broth.

 

 

 

 

11. Stir gently the egg-lemon sauce into the youvarlakia and simmer for 2-3 more minutes over medium heat, until hot but not boiling.

 

 

tips and tricks

1. Serve while still hot with (optionally) a sprinkle of chopped parsley or dill or peppermint.
2. Always serve with some nice hard bread. The crisp and lightly brown bread makes for a perfect dipping agent and truly soaks up all of the savory liquid in the bowl with ease.
3. Ιf you don’t use flour your broth will be thinner.
4. You can replace the water with broth or vegetable stock
5. If you want youvarlakia with egg-lemon sauce put 3 cups of water.
6. The youvarlakia is a summer food if instead of egg-lemon sauce put grated tomatoes with water.

Bon appetite – Kali orexi