Giouvarlakia (Γιουβαρλάκια (Giouvarlakia))
Overview
Giouvarlakia is a Greek soup of meat and rice balls in an egg and lemon sauce. Minced beef or a mixture of beef and pork is kneaded with grated onion, uncooked rice, chopped parsley, dill or mint, a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and rolled into small balls. They are dropped into boiling water or stock and simmered until the rice inside swells and cooks. At the end, eggs are beaten with plenty of lemon juice, mixed with hot broth and stirred into the pot, to make the famous avgolemono sauce, which turns the broth thick, creamy and tangy. It is served with bread.
History
The name comes from the Turkish word yuvarlak, round, and the dish is shared with the Ottoman kitchen, but the egg and lemon finish is typically Greek. Giouvarlakia is a comforting family dish and a favourite of Greek winters, often served when someone is ill. It appears in almost every Greek home cookbook and is one of the first soups many Greek children learn to love.
Main ingredients
Minced beef, rice, onion, dill, eggs, lemon. The soup is built on egg and lemon broth with meatballs and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; usually gluten-free.
Explore: Beef soups · Rice soups · Egg soups · More soups from Greece
Recipe
Method
- 1
Knead the meat with the onion, rice, herbs, oil, salt and pepper and roll into small balls.
- 2
Bring the water or stock to the boil and add the meatballs.
- 340 min
Simmer gently for 40 minutes, until the rice is cooked.
- 4
Beat the eggs with the lemon juice and whisk in two ladles of the hot broth.
- 5
Stir the mixture into the pot off the heat and serve at once.
- ✓
Serve. About 1h 10m from start to bowl.
Sources
- %CE%93%CE%B9%CE%BF%CF%85%CE%B2%CE%B1%CF%81%CE%BB%CE%AC%CE%BA%CE%B9%CE%B1 (Wikipedia)
- Greek cuisine (Wikipedia)
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
