066Meatball and rice soup

Method

Classic avgolemono soup. Ladle 5 to 6 meatballs with plenty of silky broth into warm shallow bowls.

You will need

• mixing bowl
• wide lidded pot
• whisk
• ladle

1. Place the minced beef, rinsed rice, grated onion, dill, parsley, 15 ml olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and half the black pepper in a mixing bowl. 5 min
2. Knead the mixture firmly for 3 minutes until smooth and sticky, then roll into walnut-sized spheres (about 20-24 balls). 10 min Ready when: Smooth, tightly shaped meatballs
3. In a wide, heavy-bottomed pot, bring the water, remaining 30 ml olive oil, butter, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt to a gentle boil over medium heat. 5 min Ready when: Liquid comes to a rolling boil
4. Gently lower the meatballs into the boiling liquid in a single layer, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes until the rice has swollen and is tender. 30 min Ready when: Meatballs float and rice grains have softened completely
5. Take the pot off the heat entirely and let it rest for 2 minutes to cease bubbling. 2 min Ready when: Broth is hot but calm
6. In a heatproof bowl, vigorously whisk the eggs until frothy, then slowly whisk in the lemon juice until emulsified. 2 min Ready when: Pale, pale yellow and frothy mixture
7. Gradually ladle two cups of the hot broth into the egg-lemon mixture in a thin, steady stream while whisking continuously to temper the eggs. 2 min Ready when: Avgolemono is warm and steamy without curdling
8. Pour the tempered sauce back into the pot, swirling the pot gently by the handles to distribute the sauce evenly without breaking the delicate meatballs. 1 min Ready when: Soup turns creamy and velvety

Tap a step to tick it off.

Make ahead and storing

Meatballs can be shaped several hours ahead and kept covered in the fridge.

Refrigerate for up to 2 days; reheat very gently over low heat, never boiling, or the egg sauce will curdle.

Substitutions

• half minced beef and half minced pork or veal for minced beef. Veal yields an exceptionally tender texture favoured in classic Athenian households.
• carolina or arborio rice for medium-grain rice. Short- or medium-grain starchier rices release starch that helps thicken the broth.

Common mistakes

• Adding avgolemono while the pot is boiling on active heat. Boiling temperatures immediately scramble the egg whites, ruining the smooth velvety emulsion.
• Stirring the soup aggressively with a wooden spoon after finishing. The tender meatballs will break apart; swirl the pot by its handles instead.

Regional variants

• Youvarlakia kokkinista: simmered in a light tomato sauce instead of finishing with avgolemono.

About the dish

Youvarlakia are gentle round meatballs made from minced beef and short-grain rice, simmered in a light broth and bound with a silken avgolemono (egg-lemon) sauce. The name derives from the Turkish yuvarlak, meaning round, pointing to the culinary exchange across the Aegean during the Ottoman era. Eaten throughout Greece, it is regarded as the quintessential home-cooked winter comfort food, especially valued for children or during illness for its soothing, acidic broth.

Found in all of Greece. Cooked for everyday, sunday lunch.

Cousins elsewhere

• Terbiyeli yuvarlak köfte (Turkish). A direct culinary cousin featuring small round meatballs finished in an egg-and-lemon sauce.
• Youvarlakia (Cypriot). Made identically across Cyprus, usually finished with egg-lemon emulsion and fresh mint.

Nutrition per serving (estimate)

501 kcal · protein 30.2 g · fat 32.2 g (saturated 9.8 g) · carbohydrate 23.4 g (sugars 3 g) · fibre 2.6 g · sodium 1308 mg

An estimate (summed from ingredient estimates) that varies with the exact ingredients. It is not dietary advice.

Written fresh by Epikouria editors from general culinary tradition. Recipe by the Epikouria editors. Prepared in the classic Greek mainland household style with fresh dill and a light, citrusy avgolemono finish..