From Chicken Stock to Avgolemono

Today I had off from work, and I thought it was high time I made a meal that consumed most of the day to prepare. Not always something I seek, but when there's nothing better to do than sit around and watch Food Network, I might as well make the day count and contribute to my culinary chops.

Inside my refrigerator were chicken drumsticks, celery, carrots, and onions--perfect ingredients for a slow-cooked meal. I am ready to make stock.

First cook the chicken; you can use any part of the bird, so long as there are bones involved. (Stock is made from bones, broth from meat.) I roasted the drumsticks in a 425-degree oven for 25-30 minutes. Let them cool, pull the meat off the bone and set it aside for later use. Put the bones back in the oven for another 20 minutes or so, until they are well browned.

Meanwhile, cut the onion, carrots, and celery into big chunks. (Don't bother to peel anything; the stock will be strained once it's finished cooking.) Place the vegetables in a big pot and throw in some garlic cloves, parsley, and a sprinkle of peppercorns. At this point, you can get as creative as your kitchen cabinets and refrigerator allows. Once the chicken bones are done, add to the pot and cover everything with cold water.

Bring the water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and let everything get friendly for a while. A pretty long while. This process could last up to eight hours; even though I have a lot of time on my hands, I can't wait that long to eat. For me, after about four hours, the stock tasted delicious enough to move onto phase two. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth, and it'll come out looking something like this:

Avgolemono, I have learned, is a Greek soup that uses egg yolks to thicken the stock, and lemon juice to brighten the flavors. To make it, pour about four cups back to the pot, bring to a boil, add about 1/4 cup orzo and cook until the pasta is al dente, about seven minutes. Turn the heat off.

While the pasta is cooking, whisk together three egg yolks and a few tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Now it's time to temper the eggs: incorporate some of the hot stock into the lemon-egg mixture, and whisk whisk whisk. Add some more stock, little by little, and continue to whisk until the eggs have reached the temperature of the stock. Pour the mixture into the pot, give it a good stir, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and it's done!

For the first bowl I added the reserved dark meat from the chicken that I made earlier:

I added frozen spinach to the second bowl, which I actually enjoyed the best:

This is now officially one of my favorite soups! If you're as obsessed with citrus as I am, this is definitely a recipe you need to try. It is simple, yet a complexity shines through thanks to the homemade stock and creamy egg yolks.

Here's the recipe that I used as a guide to make the avgolemono: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Avgolemono-352269