Chicken soup with rice and lemon liaison

Bulgarian chicken soup is a clear broth with rice, carrot and an egg-and-yogurt liaison. Charring the onion dry in a pan gives the broth colour and a light smoky note, and lemon at the end freshens it. After pork, eggs and beans, the soup's light, clean taste is welcome.

Ingredients

Method

1. Char the onion

   Peel the onion, halve it and place it cut side down in a dry pan over high heat. Cook for 5 minutes, until the base turns black.

   

2. Boil the chicken

   Put the drumsticks in a pot with 2 litres of cold water and bring to the boil. Skim off the foam with a spoon and turn the heat down low.

   On a low heat the broth stays clear. A hard boil makes it cloudy.

   

3. Add the vegetables

   Add the charred onion, the carrots cut into rounds, the celery, bay leaves, peppercorns and salt. Cook for 35 minutes, until the meat starts to come away from the bone.

   

4. Take out the meat

   Lift out the drumsticks, onion, celery and bay leaves. Remove the skin and bones and shred the meat into bite-size pieces.

   

5. Cook the rice

   Add the rice to the broth with the carrots and simmer for 12 minutes, until soft. Return the shredded meat to the pot.

   

6. Make the liaison

   Whisk the egg with the yogurt and lemon juice. Pour in a full ladle (about 150 ml) of hot broth in a thin stream, stirring all the time.

   Take the pot off the heat before you add the liaison, or the yogurt will curdle.

   

7. Finish the soup

   Pour the liaison into the pot and stir. Season with salt, sprinkle with the parsley and serve at once.

   

How to serve

Serve with dried chilli flakes and a slice of bread.

Good to know

Other Bulgarian soups, such as meatball soup, also use an egg-and-yogurt liaison.

Per serving (approx.): 340 kcal · protein 28 g · fat 15 g · carbohydrates 22 g