Greek Lemon Soup with Spicy Olive Oil Drizzle

Avgolemono is a comforting Greek chicken, lemon, egg, and rice soup.  This recipe starts with a classic interpretation of avgolemono and added a spicy olive oil to give it a savoury kick.

Ingredients:
•8 cups good quality chicken stock or broth
•1 cup short grain starchy rice
•2 large shallots, or 1 medium onion diced
•1 bay leaf
•2 large fresh eggs
•1 pound chicken breast cut in 1″ dice
•1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
•1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons spicy olive oil such as Sunshine Coast Olive Oil Co. Baklouti Chili Olive Oil, Cayenne Pepper Olive Oil, Harissa Olive Oil or Chipotle Olive Oil
•copious amounts of fresh cracked pepper
•sea salt to taste

Directions:
In a large stock pot, heat 2 tablespoons of your chosen spicy Olive Oil over medium heat.  Add the diced shallots and sauté until soft, approximately 2 minutes.  Add the chicken stock, chicken breast, bay leaf, and rice to the pot and bring to a simmer for approximately 30 minutes, or until the rice is very tender, and the soup is slightly thickened.

In a heat proof bowl whisk together the eggs and lemon juice.  Add one cup of hot stock to the egg and lemon mixture whisking constantly.  Add the egg and lemon mixture back in to the stock pot while stirring constantly.  The soup will instantly thicken and become somewhat creamy.  Simmer for an additional minute over medium heat stirring constantly.

Remove the bay leaf, taste and adjust the seasoning with additional pepper, and salt if desired.

Serve each bowl with a healthy drizzle of spicy Sunshine Coast Olive Oil Co. Baklouti Green Chili Olive Oil, Cayenne Pepper Olive Oil, Harissa Olive Oil or Chipotle Olive Oil