Youvarlakia....Lemony meatball and rice soup..

Who said that mince meat is boring?  Probably the hoards of people frantically grabbing the packs of the stuff like it was gold. I bet they didn't think much of it before the Apocalypse hit our lives!
When I ask my non Greek friends what they make with it, like most people, the answer is Spag Bol, which is also a favourite in our house.  Well when I see mince meat I see soutzoukakia smyrneika or my dad's hard boiled egg stuffed meat loaf baked in a tomato sauce, or moussaka or pastitsio or even Lee's chow mein.. you get the idea..the list goes on.

One of my favourites though is the Greek soup youvarlakia.  These meaty and herby delights are fluffed up with rice and cooked in a pot of water and rice creating their own stock. The recipe is then finished with the very Greek essential in a lot of our soups. Avgolemono. Avgo - egg Lemono- lemon.  This last magical step to the soup turns it it into a luscious, velvety tangy sensation.  You must watch Evangeline's step by step insta video for a helping hand.  Cooking with Evangeline

For the Youvarlakia

500gr minced beef

1 egg

1 medium onion grated or finely chopped

1/4 cup medium grain rice

2 tbs finely chopped dill

2 tbs finely chopped parsley

1/4 tbs salt (or to your liking - I like my salt)

freshly ground pepper

For the soup

1 1/2 litres hot water

1/4 cup medium grain rice

For the avgolemono

2 eggs
2 lemons juiced
1/2 tbs corn flour

For the youvarlakia: In a bowl, add the minced meat, egg, rice, onion, herbs, salt and pepper.  Combine well ensuring all ingredients are mixed through.  Squish the mixture between your fingers, fold and squish again.  Do this for a few minutes.
Roll into small balls and lightly flour.  This step will help thicken the soup.  I sometimes miss this step as I put the cornflour slurry in the soup at the end which does the job!

Add the water to your pot and bring to the boil.  Add all the youvarlakia carefully then the rice.  Once the soup comes to the boil, lower the heat and bring to a simmer for about 50 minutes or until rice is completely soft.  Check the stock for salt and turn heat off.

For the avgolemono (egg lemon)

In a bowl, whisk the eggs until frothy.  Add the lemon juice and continue whisking.  In a separate cup/bowl add the corn flour and a bit of water to dilute the cornflour and make it into milky like slurry.

Pour cornflour slurry into the egg and lemon mixture and while continuously whisking carefully pour a ladle of the hot stock into the egg lemon mixture.  Continue adding the hot stock while whisking until most of the stock is in the bowl.  Now pour the egg lemon stock mixture back into the saucepan.  Give it a stir and put on a low heat for a minute so the corn flour can thicken the soup.  Do not turn the heat on high as the egg may curdle.

Enjoy with a sprinkle of cracked pepper and crusty bread.

NOTE:  The amount of lemon and salt is completely up to your taste buds so adjust to your liking.
IMPORTANT NOTE:  If you are like Lee and prefer a tomato based soup as opposed to the tanginess of the egg lemon you just have to omit the avgolemono step and in the step where you are about to bring the youvarlaki to the boil add a bit of tomato pasted a can of chopped tomatoes.   In this version I also add a sprinkle of mizithra or parmesan when serving.

Kali Orexi

Kalliroy aka Carol