Fennel and kale avgolemono soup

For this classic Greek lemon and egg soup, you slowly heat an emulsion of eggs, lemon juice, and broth for a quick, comforting bowl that packs a sweet and sour punch.

Take me to the recipe!

So guys, I’m trying to lose weight. I hate admitting that because it feels like a betrayal of my hard work to unlearn diet culture over this past year. BUT! Thanks to all of that work, I think I can lose a few pounds while maintaining a healthy relationship with food and my body. Because I love food and it’s not realistic for me to give any of it up. And, while I’m still working at loving my body, I appreciate all that it’s done for me and don’t feel like it has to match an unrealistic thin, white ideal.

But the fact is, I weigh more than I’d like to. Baby weight plus quarantine weight plus holiday weight has added up. I started reigning in my eating a few months ago, which helped my mental health. Somehow feasting on unlimited amounts of Nutella to deal with postpartum and covid anxiety wasn’t working. GO FIGURE. But I focused primarily on what I was eating, rather than on how much I was eating.

Now I need to face the statistics that having had Gestation Diabetes during my second pregnancy makes it more likely that I’ll develop Type II Diabetes if I don’t maintain a healthy weight. And, one of my chief physical complaints is back pain and when I’m holding onto extra weight, there’s more stress on my spine. I want to be able to play with and pick up my kids and I can’t do that if my back is out!

Enter, soup! I love soup in the winter anyway for its coziness, but it’s the perfect vehicle for veggies and healthy fats. It’s also filling and EASY.

This version of Avgolemono in particular is one of my favorites. It’s creamy without any dairy and a well-rounded meal with the orzo and veggies. It’s also infinitely adaptable based on your diet and preferences. Doing Whole 30? Leave out the orzo and add shredded chicken. Gluten free? Swap the orzo for rice. Vegetarian? Use veggie stock instead of chicken stock. Want more protein? Add beans or quinoa. Want it zingier? Add more lemon! Want it creamier? Add another egg! The variations are endless.

The only rule with Avgolemono is this: Don’t let the eggs come to a boil! You’ll end up with scrambled egg bits in your broth and nobody wants that.

Fennel and kale avgolemono soup 

Time: about 30 minutes, mostly active
Yield: about 6 cups

6 cups chicken stock
1 tsp salt + more to taste (I’ve added another 1/2 tsp at the end in some batches)
1/8th tsp of black pepper 
1 bay leaf
1 large garlic clove (or 2 medium/small), peeled and lightly smashed
1/2 cup uncooked orzo
3 eggs
¼ cup lemon juice (the juice of 1 large lemon) + more to taste
2 cups lacinto kale (1 small bunch) 
1 small fennel bulb, sliced paper thin

Combine the stock, salt, black pepper, bay leaf and garlic in a pot and bring to a boil. Scoop out 1 cup of the hot stock and set aside to cool. 

Scoop out the garlic clove and add it to a blender. Set aside. 

Add the orzo and cook according to package directions, minus one minute. 

While the orzo is cooking, chop the kale and slice the fennel as thinly as possible. Set aside. 

Add the eggs and the lemon juice to the blender with the cooled garlic. Set aside.

Once the orzo is done, turn the heat down all the way and let the broth just barely simmer. Add the kale and the fennel and stir.

Check the cooling cup of broth. It should be warm, but not hot. If you can comfortably leave your finger in the broth, it’s ready. If the broth is still too hot to touch, add an ice cube and check again in one minute after the ice has melted.

Whizz the garlic, eggs, and lemon juice in the blender until just combined and slightly frothy. Add the warm broth in a stream or in 4 batches if your blender doesn’t open while running. 

Add the egg, lemon, garlic, and stock emulsion to the simmering broth and cook, stirring, for about 5 more minutes. Don’t let the soup boil!

Taste for seasoning and add more salt, pepper, and lemon as needed.

Shortcut chicken soup

This chicken soup uses a few shortcuts like rotisserie chicken and store-bought broth to speed up the process, but gets extra oomph from plenty of aromatics, a little extra cooking oil, and teeny tiny pasta cooked right in the broth. A poached egg on top adds even more richness and depth.

Take me to the soup!

I originally called this “Quick and rich chicken soup,” but it sounded too much like a country band. However, the moniker still applies because this guy is indeed quite rich and quite quick (for a soup that tastes this good, that is!).

I’m not a huge fan of the chicken broth that comes in a box or a can. I mean, it’s fine as a replacement for water when cooking grains and beans, but for soup? It’s a little thin and bland for me. But, I don’t always have homemade stock in the freezer or the wherewithal to make it. (But if I do, this is my recipe!)

To spice and thicken it up, I use any combination of these:

• Butter: Adding a little extra cooking fat when you start sautéing your aromatics adds richness to the final product.

• Tiny pasta: The teenier the better! Orzo, stelline, ditalini, anilline, or any other pasta that’s about the size of a pencil eraser works perfectly. When cooked in the broth, the starch from the pasta thickens the broth significantly.

• Cheese: Adding some grated cheese at the end is one strategy, but tossing in the leftover rind of any hard cheese adds salt, depth, and richness.

• Salt: This might sound weird because a lot of canned and boxed broths have A LOT of salt in them, but if you use the unsalted or low salt variety, be sure to add enough salt back in.

• Poached egg: When the soup is done, adding a poached egg on top enriches it even more!

In this soup, I used pasta and a poached egg to give it a rich, silky texture. I included a range for the amount of liquid to add depending on how much liquid you like in your soup. Six cups makes the soup very thick, eight cups make it less so.

Shortcut chicken soup

2 Tbsp olive oil 
1 small onion, diced 
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced (heaping ½ cup)
1 small stalk celery, diced (scant ½ cup)
6 large fresh sage leaves 
½ tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf 
1 tsp kosher salt
Black pepper to taste 
6-8 cups chicken stock
1 cup tiny pasta 
1-2 cups shredded, precooked chicken
Serving sugggestions: 
Poached egg, parmesan cheese, more seasonin to taste

Time: About 45 minutes, mostly active
Yield: About 6-8 cups of soup, depending on how much water and chicken you add

Heat the olive oil in a large, deep pot over medium high heat. Add the minced onion, carrot, and celery and cook, stirring frequently, until the veggies begin to brown and the onions are translucent, about 6-8 minutes. 

Add the sage and thyme and cook until fragrant, about one minute.

Add the bay leaf, salt, pepper, and chicken stock and mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. 

While the soup simmers, shred the chicken and set aside.

Bring back to a boil and add the pasta. Cook according to package directions until al dente. 

Add the shredded chicken and stir.