Avgolemono (without the "avgo")

As I've mentioned in previous posts, my father's family is from Greece (he was born in Chicago, where his parents emigrated early in the last century, and Greek was his first language). Anyway, thanks to his heritage we were exposed to a lot of delicious food that was highly unusual in the primarily Irish Catholic, working class neighborhood where I grew up. In that 1970s world of bologna and Miracle Whip on Wonder Bread (punchline: you wonder why they call it bread), things like baklava, spanakopita and garlicky dandelion greens with lemon juice were fairly exotic. One of my all-time favorite things that he used to make was a thick, pale yellow soup called avgolemono, which I can only describe as cream of chicken soup as imagined on Mount Olympus. It was made with chicken stock, lemon juice, and at the very end an egg would be beaten in; there may have been some milk in there too, but I never really watched him make it, I just ate it.

Years and years went by when I would occasionally think about it, but I never bestirred myself to recreate it. I briefly considered having a try after my father passed away in February 2007, but ultimately just didn't have the heart. Until recently, when I was struck with an absolute craving for the stuff and resolved to give it my most workmanlike effort. Not having had it in such a long time, I pretty much winged it (though I took some inspiration from a post by Frecklefoot on the PPK), messing around with a dash of this and a splash of that, and in the end, it came out really tasty; I'll definitely make it again. Be aware that it's pretty generous with the lemon (we do love lemon), but you could easily use half the amount specified here and still get that nice, bright flavor with less tartness. The turmeric is purely for color, but few things are nicer than a bowl of cheerful yellow soup on a grey, wintry day, especially if you have a cold, or even if you just need something comforting and delicious that makes you think of a warm, sunny place where figs and olives grow on trees.

Avgolemono

Ingredients:
~ 1/2 cup long grain white or brown rice (I used brown), cooked in 1 cup vegetable broth
~ 2 tbsp. Earth Balance or other vegan margarine
~ 1 cup chopped onions
~ 1 tsp. each: salt, rosemary, dried parsley
~ 1/4 tsp. turmeric
~ 1 tbsp. brown sugar
~ Fresh black pepper
~ Zest and juice of 2 lemons (2 tbsp. and 1/3 cup, respectively; use 1 lemon if you want it less tart)
~ 4 cups vegetable stock
~ 1 cup unsweetened soy milk
~ 1 15 oz. can lite coconut milk (or 2 cups additional soy milk if you don't have it)
~ 2 tbsp. corn starch or arrowroot powder

Directions:
~ Cook the rice according to package directions and set aside.
~ In a deep pot or large wok, saute the onions and spices in the Earth Balance over medium heat for 10-15 minutes.
~ Transfer the cooked onions to a blender or food processor; add the lemon juice and zest and puree thoroughly.
~ Return mixture to pot, add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil.
~ In a separate container, mix 1 cup of soy milk and corn starch with a fork until smooth.
~ Add the cooked rice, soy milk/corn starch mixture and the coconut (or additional soy) milk to the hot soup and stir to combine thoroughly.
~ Simmer over low heat another 10 minutes until thickened, adding a little water if necessary.
~ Serve hot with crusty bread or fresh herb muffins; add a green salad and you have A Perfect Meal.