GOIUVARLAKIA GREEK SOUP

 I was in Melbourne last weekend for 24 hours; for a family gathering and an AFL game (two guesses where I was born?). I went down with my boyfriend Chris, who likes to take life kinda slowly and in his stride. I am the complete opposite. I seem to cut, scratch, spill, trip, wound or fall down on a regular occurrence as I am going too fast to notice inanimate objects around me. On Sunday morning, I was up and ready to start the 2 degree day, however Chris was not. So I pottered down to the hotel reception and picked up the first magazine I found- ‘Feast’ by SBS. And I fell in love. Who could not after skimming a magazine about food from cultures all over the globe? And the most mouth-watering, aesthetic photos of food. Long story short, I took/stole the magazine and poured over it on the flight home, immediately purchasing a year-long subscription online. My first recipe from Feast was Giouvarlakia Greek Soup, which is a scrumptious soup that contains beef & rice meatballs and a soup foundation made from avgolemono- a lemon and egg mixture. A truly remarkable soup, unlike anything I have tasted before - try it! 

(The Feast recipe has been altered somewhat below).

INGREDIENTS

• 500g extra lean minced beef
• 3 eggs
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced 
• 1/2 a cup finely chopped fresh parsley, plus extra to serve 
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary 
• 1/2 cup long-grain rice (I used doongara rice)
• 1 litre (4 cups) beef stock
• 1 litre (4 cups) water
• 2 teaspoons oil (I used grapeseed oil)
• 1 lemon, squeezed/juiced
• sea salt & black pepper

COOKING 

1.Place minced beef, 1 egg (lightly beaten), onion, garlic, parsley, rosemary, 1 teaspoon oil and sea salt & pepper in a large bowl. Using your hands, combine the ingredients until mixed well. With slightly wet hands, form the beef mixture into 24-30 even sized meatballs. Place these on a large plate/tray and refrigerate for 20 minutes. 

2. After the meatballs have been in the fridge for 10 minutes, place water, beef stock, 1 teaspoon oil and 1 teaspoon salt in a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Leave the liquid boiling for a few minutes and then reduce heat to simmer. Gently add meatballs and cook, covered, for around 15 minutes or until beef is all cooked through. Remove the saucepan from heat. 

3. Whisk 2 eggs and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Add 60ml of the hot soup (a little over 1/4 cup) and whisk until mixed well. Stir the egg & lemon mixture into the big saucepan and return the pan to low to medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Take care not to let the soup boil, as the eggs will start to solidify. Remove from heat when cooked through and sprinkle with extra parsley, if desired. Serve warm.

Serves / 4 - 6 

Total Preparation time / 35 minutes (including refrigeration time)

Total Cooking time / 30 minutes 

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