Chicken with Avgolemono Sauce

Avgolemono Sauce comes from Greece and is made with lemon juice and egg yolks

Serves 4

One of our markets had a very good special going on packages of various chicken parts; so I loaded up. Shortly after,  I heard a bit of Greek music on the radio and this wonderful recipe came to my mind.  I had to make it right away. Avgolemono or egg-lemon sauce may originally be a Sephardic Jewish dish.  It is a sauce used often in the Mediterranean. You may have experienced it even as a soup.  I do enjoy the unique taste of it and in this chicken recipe, I think that it’s excellent.  I serve it with white rice and a good veggie dish or a nice salad.  I hope that you’ll enjoy it as well.

Ingredients:

8 chicken thighs (or chicken pieces of your choice amount to match up to 8 thighs if you wish to serve 4)

1 Tsp. safflower or olive oil

1 small onion, minced

6 mushrooms, minced ( I used my frozen mushrooms duxelles from my freezer-recipe given in a previous issue)

1 celery stalk, chopped

3 C. chicken broth

S&P to taste

1 bay leaf

Paprika to sprinkle on the dish at the end

For the sauce:

2 Tblsp. water

2 Tsp. cornstarch

2 egg yolks

1/4 C. lemon juice

Directions:

1. I actually used a wok like pan for this dish but I’m sure another larger deep pot would work as well.  Place wok over medium heat; add oil.
2. When hot add onion, mushrooms and celery; stir-fry till crisp-tender.
3. Add broth; bring to a simmer and add chicken parts, S&P, and bay leaf; simmer uncovered till chicken is done—depending on the parts used, anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour.
4. Remove chicken and cover to keep warm.
5. At this point, you may only have about 2 cups of liquid left, however if not, simmer more uncovered till you only have 2 cups or so of liquid. Remove wok from hot burner.
6. Strain the broth and put back in wok.  Reserve the veggies with the covered chicken to keep warm.
7. In a small bowl or cup, stir together the water and cornstarch till smooth.
8. In another bowl beat the egg yolks till light and lemon colored.  Slowly beat in the lemon juice.
9. To the strained broth in the wok add the cornstarch mixture stirring till smooth.  Place wok on medium burner; bring to a simmer, stirring frequently until slightly thickened.
10. Remove wok from heat and stir in the egg mixture.  Season with S&P.
11. Place chicken topped with your veggies on a pretty platter; pour the sauce over all and then sprinkle with paprika.

 

For easy access and printing of this and past recipes, visit Margot’s blog http://blog.tempinnkeeper.com  Call Margot for personal cooking help @ 721-3551.

Margot is a self-taught enthusiastic & passionate cook. Having been an inn-keeper for 5 years at her own inn, she accumulated a lot of good recipes which she loves to share.