For millennia, people have been lovingly preparing and serving hot bowls of chicken soup to those feeling ill – especially those suffering from upper respiratory infections (URIs).

Fact or fiction? Does chicken soup help the symptoms of those suffering from head colds or what I have come to call the ‘crud,’ meaning: a head cold on steroids … or, probably a sinus infection.

Who knows?

What we do know is, when suffering with a cold that impacts the upper chest to our eyeballs, we are full of stuff that needs to come out.

Chicken soup seems to help with that process. Warming up from a steamy bowl of soup helps open passageways and loosen mucus, boosts the immune system, and provides flavorful nutrition all at once.

I found a great summary of how the ingredients of chicken soup can help symptoms of an URI HERE that says:

Chicken broth – Hearty broth contains vitamins, minerals, and some fat. The steamy liquid can help to improve upper respiratory symptoms by providing hydration and stimulating nasal clearance.

Carrots, celery, onion – These vegetables contain vitamins A, C, and other antioxidants, which nutrients help build a strong immune system and fight off viruses. They may help the body recover faster from an illness.

Chicken – The star of the dish provides protein, which also supports the immune system.

Noodles – High in carbohydrates, they help you feel full and satisfied.

Herbs (optional) – Herbs like parsley, bay leaf, thyme, or dill can boost flavor and add more antioxidants to support your immune system.

Okay. You had me at chicken soup. These benefits sound great! But I kept thinking about the extra yummy lemon-rice-chicken soup we had this fall at a local restaurant. That’s what I really wanted. The lemon factor ramps up the beneficial nutrients and taste.

I was on a quest.

Google presented me with Greek lemon rice chicken soup and sent me a gem of a recipe for avgolemono soup.

Allrecipes however, was the best in helping me understand the Greek term “avgolemono,” which means “egg-lemon.”

Avgolemono is pronounced ave-go-LE-mono. Avgo is Greek for “egg” and lemoni means “lemon.” The term refers not to a kind of soup, but to a sauce! This soup’s lovely creaminess is thanks to a heavenly egg/lemon sauce.

After the prep work for the mirepoix (carrots, onion, and celery) and other miscellaneous ingredients, the cooking process is pretty basic. New to me was soaking the rice to shorten the cooking time.

As they say, the secret is in the sauce; and this sauce is a cinch. Using my new hand-held mixer with whisk attachment, it was easy to whisk the two eggs, slowly add the lemon juice, and then – a very important step – temper the sauce with two or three ladles of hot, finished soup gradually whisked into the egg-lemon mixture.

Once tempered, stir in the egg-lemon mixture into the hot soup – off heat – which will result in creamy loveliness. Un-tempered, you would have egg drop soup.

I have tweaked the original recipe by adding some lemon zest – it just seemed to need another nudge in that direction. Sheree has prepared a downloadable/printable version for you here:

Eating this soup was so therapeutic to the three of us that night because we were all recovering from varying degrees of the crud. The remaining portion was sent home with our guest for his wife, also healing from this thing that just doesn’t want to let go!

I encourage you to try this recipe and please let me know how it turns out. As always, you can share this post using the options under the MORE button below.

In health –

Deidre