Youvarlakia (Greek Meatball Soup)
This traditional Greek meatball soup is hearty and flavored with a zesty lemon and dill sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 cup uncooked rice
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tbsp dill
- zest of ½ lemon
- 2 tsp thyme
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 egg
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 sprig rosemary
- dash of pepper
Avgolemono - lemon sauce
- 2 eggs (room temperatue)
- ½ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
Meatballs
- In a bowl add turkey, onion, rice, garlic, dill, lemon zest, thyme, olive oil and egg.
- Mix thoroughly until all ingredients are incorporated.
- Shape the mixture into small meatballs and place in a pot. At this time, place pot in the refrigerator to allow the meatballs to become firm (approximately 30 minutes).
- Remove pot from refrigerator, add broth and rosemary.
- Squeeze the juice from the lemon used for zest, and place the lemon in the pot.
- Cover the pot, place over low heat, and simmer for 40 minutes, or until thoroughly cooked.
Avgolemono Sauce
- Prepare the sauce by adding 2 eggs to a medium bowl.
- Beat the eggs and add in lemon juice.
- Continue to beat until eggs and lemon are frothy.
- While beating the mixture, slowly add 3 ladles of hot broth from the soup pot (this will temper the eggs).
- Once completely combined, add the sauce to the pot with the broth and stir.
- Place meatballs back in soup pot and stir gentle. Enjoy!
Notes
- Tempering the eggs is the process of warming up the eggs by adding a small amount of hot broth to them, while whisking. This process prevents the eggs from curdling when adding them to the broth.
- Ladle soup into individual bowls. Serve with a sprinkle of pepper/and or dill, a drizzle of olive oil, and Tuscany wheat bread.
Nutrition
Calories: 443kcalCarbohydrates: 44gProtein: 36gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 185mgSodium: 1399mgPotassium: 787mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 254IUVitamin C: 40mgCalcium: 66mgIron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!