Chicken Soup with Rice

Ingredients

• 2 onions
• 1 Garlic clove
• 2 carrots
• 2 stalks celery
• whole chicken (approx. 1.2 kg)
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt
• black pepper (freshly ground)
• 100 g round-grain rice
• 2 Eggs
• juice of one lemon

Instructions

1. 1.

   Peel and finely dice onions, garlic, carrots, and celery. Rinse the whole chicken under running cold water inside and out, place it in a pot. Cover with water, bring to a boil, skimming off foam as it rises. Add diced vegetables and bay leaf; season with salt and pepper.

2. 2.

   Return to a boil, cover, and simmer for about 1½ hours until the meat is tender. Strain over a sieve, reserving the broth. Add rice to the broth and cook according to package instructions. Separate the chicken from bones, cut into bite-sized pieces, and return to the broth; season again with salt and pepper.

3. 3.

   Remove the soup from heat. Whisk eggs and lemon juice until smooth. Gradually stir in 1–2 ladles of broth, then slowly pour the egg-lemon mixture back into the soup while stirring constantly. Do not let it boil again or the soup will curdle. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, serve immediately.