Giouvarlakia — Rice-Meatball Soup with Avgolemono

Finely chop the onion and parsley. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, rice, chopped onion, parsley, 1 egg, salt, and pepper. Mix well with your hands until just combined, but do not overmix.

Form the mixture into small, uniform meatballs, about 3-4 cm in diameter. Set aside.

In a large pot, bring the beef broth to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Carefully add the meatballs to the simmering broth. Ensure they are submerged.

Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30-35 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through and the rice is tender. Do not boil vigorously, as this can break the meatballs.

While the meatballs are simmering, prepare the avgolemono. In a separate bowl, whisk the 2 eggs vigorously until frothy. Squeeze the juice from the lemons and add it to the whisked eggs, continuing to whisk.

Carefully ladle about 1-2 cups of the hot broth from the soup into the egg-lemon mixture, whisking constantly to temper the eggs. This prevents them from scrambling.

Remove the pot from the heat. Slowly pour the tempered avgolemono mixture back into the soup, stirring gently but continuously. Do not return the soup to a boil after adding the avgolemono, as it will curdle.

Stir in the Greek extra virgin olive oil. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt and pepper if needed.

Serve immediately, garnished with a little extra fresh parsley if desired. Enjoy your authentic Giouvarlakia!