Greek Creamy Lemon Meatballs Aka Avgolemono Recipes

TRADITIONAL GREEK MEATBALL SOUP (GIOUVARLAKIA/ YOUVARLAKIA) IN EGG-LEMON SAUCE RECIPE

Steps:

• To prepare this Greek meatball soup, start by making the meatballs (youvarlakia). Place all the meatball ingredients into a large bowl, knead the mixture squeezing the ingredients with your hand until smooth. Leave the mixture to rest in the fridge for 15 minutes. This will prevent the youvarlakia to break up when boiled. Form the meatballs (youvarlakia) and set them aside.
• Pour into a large pan 2 ½ cups of water and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and gently add the meatballs (youvarlakia) in the water, put the lid back on and cook for 20-25 minutes. (The water should be enough to cover the meatballs, so add some more warm water if needed)
• To prepare the egg lemon sauce for the Greek meatball soup, crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk. Add the lemon juice and whisk well. Add into the bowl a ladle of hot soup and whisk quickly. Add one more ladle and whisk again until combined.
• Stir in the egg lemon sauce into the youvarlakia soup and cook for 2-3 minutes over medium heat, until warm but not boiling.
• Serve this extra warming Greek meatball soup, while still hot with a sprinkle of chopped parsley.
• Make sure that you do not cover any left overs until they have cooled; the sauce may curdle otherwise!!

GREEK CREAMY LEMON MEATBALLS (AKA AVGOLEMONO)

Steps:

• 1. a small bowl, add your meatball ingredients. Mix well till rice is incorporated thoroughly with the meat mixture and spices. Using your melon ball scooper. Scoop out meat balls and set on a plate, set aside! When you have finished making your meatballs, in a large non stick skillet, add your olive oil, let heat and add your meatballs.
• 2. Let them brown on one side, turn over... and let them brown on the other side.
• 3. Lower heat to as low as it can go... add your stock (chicken base). Add your water and cover the meatballs thoroughly!! Increase your heat to medium.
• 4. Let the meatballs come to a boil/simmer. Lower the heat to low, cover and time them for approximately 15-18 minutes. Turn off heat when timer is done.
• 5. This is what they will look like when the 18 minutes or so are over... See how perfectly cooked the rice is... love it!!
• 6. Okay, let's get busy with that amazing lemon sauce shall we???? Gather your very simple ingredients! Juice your lemon, separate your egg. How simple can that be??? Now that you have separated your egg white from yolk, I want you take a whisk and beat the living daylights out of the eggwhite... till it's nice and frothy and creamy looking!! I don't want you to make it "meringue", we need it frothy....
• 7. Take about 1/3 cup of the chicken broth from the now cooked meatballs and pour directly into the beaten egg white mixture. Easy right? Now we need to add the lemon into this... beat well with the whisk. Finally add your egg yolk and the pinch of salt. Beat just a smidgen more, like 10 whisks is all I'm saying. What you are doing is literally "tempering" the eggs. In other words, you are introducing a very hot mixture into a "neutral atmosphere". So the mixture will not "curdle" when brought back into the hot.
• 8. Let the meatballs and now creamy lemon mixture come to a full boil. Turn off heat and your ready to serve!! Look at how creamy and low fat this sauce is... and did I mention AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS??? Our favorite way of eating this is over mashed potatoes... so darn good... just DELICIOUS!!!!!

GREEK LEMON CHICKEN SOUP AKA AVGOLEMONO

Steps:

• In a large stockpot, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Add the chicken breasts and then lower to a simmer. Simmer until the chicken is just cooked through and the internal temperature registers 160 degrees F, 15 to 20 minutes; remove to a bowl. Once cooled, shred the chicken and reserve.
• Add the orzo or rice to the pot with the chicken stock and cook until al dente, 5 to 8 minutes.
• In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and most of the lemon juice, reserving some to add later as needed. Fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites. Once combined, ladle in some hot stock to temper the egg mixture, whisking constantly and adding the hot liquid slowly. Very slowly, add the warm whipped egg/lemon mixture into the pot, whisking constantly to prevent any curds or clumps from forming. Continue to cook over medium-low to medium heat, whisking, until the soup thickens, about 10 minutes more.
• Add the shredded chicken and any reserved juices to the soup. Add the lemon zest and season with salt and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper. Taste and add additional lemon juice if needed. Garnish with chopped parsley.

THE TRADITIONAL EGG-LEMON SAUCE (GREEK AVGOLEMONO) RECIPE

Steps:

• To prepare the classic Avgolemono recipe, start by cracking the eggs into a bowl and whisk well.
• Gradually add the lemon juice and whisk again to combine.
• Add a little of the warm stock or soup and whisk quickly, add more and whisk again. The reason for slowly adding the broth is to gradually warm up the eggs so you don't end up with an omelette instead of a sauce!
• Pour gradually the egg mixture back into the pot, whilst constantly stirring and bring just below boiling point. Remove the pan from the stove and serve.

MEAT BALLS AVGOLEMONO (VEAL BALLS WITH LEMON AND EGG SAUCE)

Steps:

• Put the veal in a mixing bowl.
• Heat one tablespoon of the butter in a skillet and add one-half cup of the onions. Cook, stirring, until wilted. Add this to the veal.
• Add the bread crumbs, half of the dill, the nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Blend well. Shape the mixture into 28 balls of equal size, each about two inches in diameter or slightly less.
• Heat two tablespoons of butter in a casserole and add the remaining onions. Cook briefly until wilted. Add the veal balls and cook, turning gently to brown lightly. Add the broth and bring to the boil. Cover and let simmer about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, beat the eggs with a wire whisk in a bowl until well blended. Add the cornstarch and continue beating until thoroughly smooth and blended. Beat in the lemon juice.
• Pour one cup of the liquid from the meatballs into the egg mixture. Beat to blend.
• Pour this blend into the meatballs with their liquid and stir. Cook over gentle heat until thickened. Sprinkle with the remaining dill and serve.

YOUVARLAKIA AVGOLEMONO (LEMONY GREEK MEATBALL SOUP)

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine ground chicken, 1/4 cup dill, onion, carrot, rice, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon zest. Gently mix with your hands until well combined.
• Gently form the mixture into 24 meatballs, each about 1 1/4 inches in diameter, placing them on a plate or baking pan. Cover and chill for at least 20 minutes or up to 24 hours. This helps the meatballs keep their shape while cooking.
• In a large pot, bring stock to a boil over high heat. Reduce to medium and use a slotted spoon to carefully add meatballs to the pot. The broth should cover the tops of the meatballs by about 1/2 inch. If not, add a little water. Simmer gently, adjusting the heat so the broth doesn't boil, until meatballs are cooked through and rice is tender, 25 to 35 minutes. (Break open a meatball to test it.) Remove pot from heat.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and lemon juice until just mixed. Slowly add a ladle of warm broth to egg-lemon mixture, whisking constantly. Whisk in another two ladles of broth to temper the egg mixture.
• Slowly drizzle the egg-lemon mixture back into the pot with the meatballs, stirring gently so you don't break apart the meatballs. Return the pot to medium-low heat until it just starts to simmer. (Wait for a bubble or two to appear, but don't let the pot boil.) The broth should be silky. Remove from heat, stir in remaining 1/2 cup dill. Taste and add salt and pepper, if needed. (It may need quite a bit of salt if you are starting with unsalted broth.) Garnish with nutmeg, if you like, and dill, and serve.

GREEK MEATBALLS IN AVGOLEMONO SAUCE (KEFTEDES ME AVGOLEMONO)

Steps:

• Meatballs:.
• Apart from the flour and the vegetable oil, mix all the other ingredients together well.
• Make medium-size balls from the mixture.
• Roll the balls in flour and then deep fry them for approximately 15 minutes.
• Sauce:.
• In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat the oil, then add the flour and stir well for 3 minutes.
• Add 1 litre water and mix well.
• Add the meatballs and simmer for 30 minutes, until the sauce is slightly thick.
• Beat the egg yolk thoroughly.
• Add the lemon juice to the egg and keep beating.
• Add 5-6 tablespoons of the sauce to the egg & lemon mixture and stir well.
• Add this mixture to the meatballs in the sauce, shake the pan and remove from the heat.
• Serve with a sprinkling of pepper and fresh mint on top.

YOUVARLAKIA AVGOLEMONO (GREEK MEATBALL-EGG/LEMON SOUP)

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the meat, minced onion, garlic, rice, 3 tablespoons chopped parsley, the mint, oregano, salt and pepper, and 1 egg, slightly beaten.
• Knead for a few minutes, then shape into walnut-sized meatballs and set aside.
• In a soup pot, bring the water or stock to boil and add the meatballs.
• Cook for 20 minutes.
• Add chopped onion, celery, carrot, zucchini and potato. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Lower the heat and gently simmer, covered, for 20-25 minutes (until the vegetables are tender), then remove from the heat.
• To prepare avgolemono: beat the two remaining eggs for 2 minutes and whisk in the corn flour.
• While beating all the while, gradually add the lemon juice.
• Then add 1 cup of the hot broth in a slow, steady stream (ladle), beating steadily, until nearly all the hot liquid has been added.
• Add the egg/stock mixture back to the soup pot and heat, being careful not to let it boil, stirring, until thickened.
• Serve hot, garnished with parsley.
• Serve this with feta cheese on the side- goes great with the little meatballs.