Xoirino prasoselino

This is the first dish that Athina mentioned to my in our interview. It has northern Greek origins, and is often eaten for Christmas.  It's simple and hearty; pork (I used shoulder) braised with celery, leeks, and white wine, and finished with a hearty avgolemono, the creamy egg-lemon mixture found throughout Greece in the winter. 
I included red, green, and yellow bell peppers because we had a bit of a surplus on hand.  It is not traditional. It was nice, though. 

For the pork stew:

2 lbs pork shoulder, cut into chunks
1 cup white wine
4 cups broth
The peel of one lemon
6 celery stalks, cut on the bias
2 leeks, cut on the bias
1 each red and yellow pepper, cut into chunks
1 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon cinnamon

For avgolemono:

2 eggs
The juice of two lemons
1 cup cooking liquid

1. In a large pot, heat a bit of oil and brown pork batches. 
2. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, and then return pork to the pot. Add broth and a bit of the lemon peel. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, for about 45 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in another pot, sweat the vegetables with the remaining lemon peel. Remove from heat and set aside until pork is ready.
4. After 45 minutes have passed, add your veg to the pork. Add oregano and cinnamon, as well as salt and pepper.
5. Simmer, uncovered, for another 45 minutes, adding more broth or water if it gets a bit dry. 
6. In a medium bowl, thoroughly beat two eggs. Whisk in lemon juice. 
7. Whisking constantly, stream about a cup of the pork's cooking liquid into the egg-lemon mixture. 
8. Remove stew from heat. Add egg-lemon mixture to the pot, shaking to incorporate.

What do you eat in the winter?

"Lots of food. Different sauces. Egg and lemon sauce...it's only good in the winter. Too heavy in the summer."

Athina, Rhodes, Greece

Avgolemono soup became a staple in my apartment last year when my best friend Chloe got obsessed with it. She called it lemon drop soup and made it about three times a week. It has Greek origins and is excellent in winter, especially if you’re not feeling so great (which unfortunately is the case for me today)

Soup is not avgolemono’s only claim to fame. This rich marriage of egg and lemon is often used as a sauce or condiment in Greece. I had it spooned over dolmades when I was there, and my inspiration for this dish comes from a photo I saw in a Greek cooking magazine, where it was served over meatballs.

This soup is so simple, it’s fun to play around with! Give it a try with some shredded chicken instead of meatballs, or omit the meat altogether for a filling vegetarian soup.  

Avgolemono soup with lamb meatballs

For the meatballs:

1 lb lamb mince

1 onion, grated

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup rice

For the soup:

1 quart chicken broth

1/4 cup rice

2 eggs, thoroughly whisked

The juice of two lemons

1 cup of boiling water

1.   In a large bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients with your hands. Season with salt and pepper and mix thoroughly. Form into balls about the size of walnuts.

2.   Heat a bit of oil in a large pan. Brown the meatballs in batches. Do not overcrowd them! Set aside on a covered plate.

3.   Prepare the soup. In a large pot, bring your broth to a boil.

4.   Add rice and simmer, uncovered, until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. At about 15 minutes, add meatballs to the soup.

5.   In a medium bowl, whisk lemon juice into the eggs. Whisking constantly, add the boiling water.

6.   Remove the soup from heat. Add the egg-lemon mixture to the soup and stir to combine.

7.   Season and serve.