Chervil Avgolemono

From The Herbal Kitchen: Cooking with Fragrance and Flavor: Cooking with Fragrance and Flavor by Jerry Traunfeld. To be published November 1, 2005 by Morrow Cookbooks. © 2005 by Jerry Traunfeld.

4 servings

Something made in 15 minutes with eggs, rice, lemon, and broth might sound like everyday comfort food. This soup is undoubtedly soothing, but it also dazzles with elegant flavor and silkiness. I've added chervil to this classic Greek recipe because it has a suave peppery-anise flavor that doesn't intrude on the simplicity of the soup.

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons long-grain white rice
• 3 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chopped chervil
• Kosher salt, if needed

Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan. Stir in the rice and simmer over low heat, partially covered, until it is tender but still firm, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Whisk together the eggs and lemon juice until very smooth. Whisk a couple of ladles of the hot broth into the egg then vigorously whisk the eggs back into the saucepan of soup. Switch to a wooden spoon and stir the soup over low heat until it thickens enough to lightly coat the spoon, which should only take a minute. Do not let it come close to a simmer or it might curdle.

Remove it from the heat and stir in the chervil. The soup will thicken a little more as it sits for the next minute. Taste for salt. If you used commercially prepared salted broth, it probably won't need more, but if you made the soup with unsalted broth, you'll need to add as much as a teaspoon.

Serve the soup right away, or keep it warm by putting the saucepan in a large pot of simmering water, stirring occasionally.

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