Avgolemono: Greek lemon chicken soup

•  Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
• 1/2 to 1 cup finely chopped carrots
• 1/2 to 1 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/2 to 1 cup finely chopped green onions
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup rice
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cooked boneless chicken breast pieces, shredded ( about 6 to 8 oz store-bought rotisserie chicken will work)
• 1/2 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 2 large eggs
• Fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat 1 tbsp olive oil on medium-high. Add the carrots, celery and green onions, toss together to saute briefly then stir in the garlic.

Add the chicken broth and bay leaves then raise the heat to high. Once the liquid has come to a rolling boil, add the rice, salt and pepper. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes or until the rice is tender. Now stir in the cooked chicken.

To prepare the egg-lemon sauce, in a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and eggs. While whisking add 2 ladles-full of the broth from the cooking pot (this helps temper the eggs). Once fully combined, add the sauce to the chicken soup and stir. Remove from the heat immediately.

Garnish with fresh parsley, if you like. Serve hot with your favorite bread. Enjoy!

NOTES

Cook's Tip for Rice: Be sure to rinse the rice well. And it helps to soak the rice in water for about 15 minutes or so or until you are able to break one grain of rice easily. The rice will cook quickly and evenly.

Can you use orzo instead of rice? Yes, orzo is fine to use. You can use 1 cup orzo, and watch cooking time as orzo will cook more quickly (about 7 minutes or so)

Important Tips: 1. Make sure to temper the sauce. To make avgolemono sauce, you'll need to whisk two eggs with 1/2 cup of lemon, and while whisking with one hand, pour in two ladles of the hot chicken broth from your soup. That's really the trickiest part of this soup, but it's not that difficult.  And if you need to,  ask someone to help you pour in the broth, while you do the whisking. 2. Add avgolemono sauce to the soup at the very end, and immediately remove from heat. This is your very last step in the process, be sure to remove the soup from heat immediately or the eggs might begin to cook and the soup separates (you're not looking for an egg drop soup here.)

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

Category: Soup

Method: Stovetop

Cuisine: Greek

Find it online: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/avgolemono-soup-recipe/

Lentil Burgers

 

Ingredients

Makes 6

1

cup dried green or brown lentils

½

cup whole-milk Greek yogurt

¼

tsp. finely grated lemon zest

1

Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2

garlic cloves, finely grated, divided

Kosher salt

6

oz. crimini mushrooms, stems trimmed

2

Tbsp. white miso

¼

tsp. smoked paprika

4

Tbsp. (or more) extra-virgin olive oil, divided

¼

cup (or more) oat, gluten-free 1:1 blend, or all-purpose flour

Whole wheat buns, sprouts and/or lettuce, and sliced pickles (for serving)

From Bon Appetit

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Pour water into a large saucepan to cover lentils by 4". Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes from the time the water reaches a boil. Drain very well in a fine-mesh sieve, then let cool at least 10 minutes (spread them out on a baking sheet, which will help them cool faster).

   Step 2

   Meanwhile, combine yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, and half of garlic in a small bowl. Season with salt; set aside.

   Step 3

   Finely chop mushrooms and transfer to a medium bowl. Add miso, paprika, 2 Tbsp. oil, and remaining garlic clove. Add lentils (you should have 2 cups cooked) and stir and mash them with the back of a spoon or a potato masher until lentils are partly mashed but with lots of whole lentils still remaining. Vigorously stir in flour until mixture holds together when squeezed; if it doesn’t, continue to mash until it does and add 1–2 Tbsp. flour if needed. Form into 6 patties about ¾" thick.

   Step 4

   Working in 2 batches, heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large nonstick skillet (nonstick is essential since these will definitely stick to a regular skillet) over medium. Cook patties until deeply browned and very crisp on bottom side, about 3 minutes. Carefully turn and repeat on second side, adding more oil as needed to maintain a light coating around patties in skillet.

   Step 5

   Spread reserved yogurt mixture on buns. Top with burgers, sprouts, and pickles.

   Step 6

   Do Ahead: Patties can be made 4 days ahead. Tightly wrap in plastic and chill.

White Chicken Chili

• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 lb. ground chicken, preferably dark meat
• 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt, plus more
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• ½ tsp. ground coriander
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2 4-oz. cans diced green chiles
• 2 15.5-oz. cans white beans, rinsed
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Sliced avocado, sour cream, cilantro leaves, sliced jalapeños, corn chips, and lime wedges (for serving)

Preparation

Step 1

Heat 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter and 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high until butter is melted. Cook 1 medium onion, finely chopped, and 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 4–6 minutes. Add 1 lb. ground chicken, preferably dark meat, 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt, 1 tsp. chili powder, 1 tsp. ground cumin, and ½ tsp. ground coriander; season with freshly ground pepper. Cook, stirring often and breaking up chicken with a wooden spoon, until combined and chicken is no longer pink, 3–4 minutes. Add two 4-oz. cans diced green chiles and cook, stirring often and continuing to break up chicken, until chicken is cooked through, 2–3 minutes. 

Step 2

Add two 15.5-oz. cans white beans, rinsed, and 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth to pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally and mashing some of the beans with spoon, until flavors are melded and chili is slightly thickened, 8–10 minutes. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.

Step 3

Divide chili among bowls and top with sliced avocado, sour cream, cilantro leaves, sliced jalapeños, and corn chips. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing over.

From Bon Appetit

Chickpea Curry with Mint and Cilantro Chutney

 

Mint and Cilantro Chutney

• 2 cups (40g) cilantro leaves
• 2 cups (40g) mint leaves
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced ginger
• 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Chickpeas

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced (about 1 to 1 1/4 cups)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2/3 cup diced tomatoes, fresh or from a can
• 2 cans of chickpeas, save the water from the can
• 1/4 cup full fat coconut milk (optional)

Instructions

• Add all the chutney ingredients to a food processor. Blend until all the ingredients are well mixed. Transfer the chutney to a small bowl and cover. Let it rest while you cook the chickpeas.
• Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, the minced garlic, ginger and serrano pepper and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the carrots and cook for another 3 minutes.
• Add the remaining teaspoon of salt, coriander, cumin and turmeric to the pot and stir to coat the vegetables with the spices. Add the diced tomatoes and chickpeas and stir. Add 1 cup of the reserved water from the can of chickpeas to the pot. If you forgot to save the water from the can, don’t worry. Water straight from the tap works, too. Turn the heat up to medium-high.
• Bring the liquids to a boil. Partially cover the chickpeas with a lid, reduce the heat to medium-low and let the chickpeas simmer for 15 minutes. Drizzle the coconut milk if using, and stir. Let the chickpeas cool off before tasting. Add more salt if necessary.
• Serve the chickpeas with cooked basmati rice and the mint and cilantro chutney. Leftover chutney will keep in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days.

British Flapjacks

 Ingredients

2-1/3 cups rolled oats quick-cooking or old-fashioned, see Recipe Notes

½ cup butter salted or unsalted 

½ cup brown sugar light

¼ cup golden syrup see Recipe Notes 

¼ tsp sea salt flaky

Mix-ins as desired optional, see Recipe Notes

2/3 cup chocolate chips semi- or bittersweet, optional

Instructions

If you’re using American-style old-fashioned rolled oats, chop them in a food process to a medium coarseness (they’ll be closer to the texture you can find in the UK).

Heat oven to 325°F (160°C). Line an 8- × 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Try to get all four sides covered so the bars don’t stick when you remove them…you’ll have to do a little bit of parchment-paper origami, but trust me, it’ll make things easier later.

In a medium-sized pot, melt the butter with the brown sugar, golden syrup, and about ¼ tsp of flaky sea salt (omit if using salted butter) over medium-high heat. Once bubbles form, simmer for one minute, then remove from heat.

Stir in the oats and any desired mix-ins until the mixture is completely coated. Press into the pan in an even layer.

Bake the bars for 20 to 25 minutes, until deeply golden at edges. The longer cooking time will yield a deeper flavored bar, but it won’t be quite as soft and sticky as with a shorter baking time.

If you’d like to add a chocolate topping (and who wouldn’t?), let the bars rest in their pan on a cooling rack for 3 to 4 minutes before sprinkling the chips all over. Wait 5 minutes, then spread the melted chocolate in a even layer using a small offset spatula.

Let the flapjacks cool completely, either at room temperature or in the refrigerator (especially if you added the chocolate chip layer).

Use the parchment paper to slide them out of their pan onto a cutting board and cut them with a serrated knife into 16 squares or into 4 large ones, then cut those quarters diagonally to form 4 triangles.

Store at room temperature in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week (if they last that long!).

Notes

If you can’t find golden syrup, try using honey or maple syrup. Just make sure it’s pure (not adulterated or pancake syrup) because you’ll really taste the flavor.

Rolled oats in the UK vs. the US have different levels of coarseness. American old-fashioned oats are whole, while British oats are smaller and more akin to US quick-cooking oats. If you have old-fashioned oats in your cupboard, just pulse them in a food processor to cut them a little smaller. That will keep the flapjack texture just right.

I

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

 

3 – 3 ½ cups shredded or diced chicken (approx. 1 lb chicken meat or 1 store bought rotisserie chicken)
3 cups cooked wild rice (2:1 water to rice ratio in rice cooker)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 medium carrots, peeled as desired & diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
8 ounces cremini mushrooms (baby bella), trimmed & sliced
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
2 teaspoons dried poultry seasoning
2 teaspoons chicken base


4 cups chicken broth or stock, divided

1/2 cup flour

3 T butter
3 cups half & half
½ lemon, juiced
kosher salt & ground black pepper, to season


INSTRUCTIONS
Soften the veggies: Add the butter to a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven (at least 5-qt capacity) over medium heat. Once melted, add in the carrot, celery, onion, & mushroom. Season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt & ground black pepper as desired. Stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies have softened slightly, 6-8 minutes. If you haven’t already, this is a great time to shred or dice the cooked chicken.

Cook the aromatics: Add the garlic, dried poultry seasoning, & chicken base to the pot, stirring to coat the softened veggies. Cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.

Build the chicken & wild rice soup: Make a roux by whisking flour in melted butter until cooked. Pour the chicken stock & roux into the pot. Cook, stirring often, until the stock thickens, 2-3 minutes. Stir the shredded/diced chicken and wild rice into the soup. Increase heat to medium-high to bring the soup to a steady simmer, then cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, to bring the flavors together.

Finish the soup: Stir the half & half into the soup, cooking for about 5 minutes more to ensure it’s warmed through without boiling it. Turn off the heat & stir in the lemon juice. Taste & season with additional salt & ground pepper as needed.

Norwegian Waffles

 INGREDIENTS

7 eggs

¾ cups sugar

1½ cup flour

5 green cardamom pods, ground 

1½ cup sour cream 

6 Tbsp melted butter 

METHOD

Beat the eggs and sugar in a blender for 8 minutes, until the preparation becomes white and makes ribbons. 

Incorporate half the flour and cardamom, alternating with the sour cream, folding delicately using a spatula.

Add remaining flour and melted butter. Mix delicately - let rest for 10 minutes.

Heat the waffle maker. Pour about ¾ cup of dough at a time (or follow the manufacturer’s instructions). Close the appliance and cook for 6 to 7 minutes until golden.  Repeat with the remaining dough.