Mediterranean Lemon Meatball Soup (Yuvarlakia Avgolemono) – a simple, zesty twist on classic meatball soup. It’s rich, delicious, and packed with bright Mediterranean flavors. Can be prepared within an hour or less for dinner. Perfect for lunch the next day at the office.
Todays recipe comes to you straight from the Mediterranean – a little charming country called Cyprus. The recipe is very similar to the popular Greek avgolemono soup – but it carries some noticeable differences. So, if you are ready to dive into some delicious Mediterranean (soup) waters, lets cook.
Behind the Bites
Avgolemono (αυγολέμονο) is a classic egg-lemon preparation – popular in both Greece and Cyprus (and neighboring countries). Its roots trace to the ancient Mediterranean tradition of egg-thickened sauces, later shaped by Jewish communities who carried a similar dish (agrístada) across Spain, Italy, and the Balkans. The technique settled in Greece, where lemon replaced vinegar and it became a staple preparation for soups, chicken dishes, and even dolma. By the Ottoman period, it was widely established in Greek-speaking cuisines as an easy way to enrich any soup.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Meatballs: ground meat, egg, rice, carrot, dill, parsley, salt and black pepper
- Soup: potatoes, carrots, celery head, onion, olive oil, water (or broth)
- Avgolemono: egg yolk, lemon, corn flour
How to prepare Mediterranean meatball soup?
1st: Prepare the meatballs: combine all meatball ingredients into a large bowl. Shape meatballs with slughtly wet hands and set aside.
2nd: Saute all the soup vegetables on the stove, then add in water and the meatballs. Bring to a boil and let simmer until cooked. Prepare the avgolemono sauce – gently mix with the soup and season. Serve immediately.
NOTE: When mixing the avgolemono into the soup, remove from the stove top. Then, usign a ladle add some soup broth into the avgolemono bowl. Mix well, then gently with the ladle mix in with the soup while swirling around to allow the avgolemono to slowly escape the ladle while submurged in the soup.
Mediterranean Lemon Meatball Soup (Yuvarlakia Avgolemono)
Ingredients
Meatballs
Soup
Avgolemono
- 1 large egg, egg yolk needed
- 4 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp. corn flour
Instructions
- First, wash white rice and strain well from water, place into a large mixing bowl. Then add ground meat, shredded carrot, egg, parsley, dill, salt and pepper.
- Mix well to combine, then shape (with slightly wet hands) small balls. Set aside with space from one another.
- Next, in a large soup pan add olive oil and sauté carrot, potato, onion and celery on low heat for a few minutes. Stir to prevent from sticking to pan.
- Then, add hot water to the soup pan and bring to a boil. Add meatballs as well and let simmer until cooked.
- When soup is cooked, prepare the avgolemono. In a smaller bowl add egg yolk and beat well. Slowly add the lemon juice while mixing. Finally add the corn flour and mix.
- Finally, with a ladle take some of the soups broth, mix it slowly with the egg yolk paste – stir all the time to prevent curdling.
- Add 3-4 ladles of soup broth and mix well. Then, using the ladle again incorporate the avgolemono into the soup. Slowly submerge the ladle into the soup and wiggle it around so that avgolemono mixes gently with the rest of the soup broth.
- Return the soup on lowest heat on the strove top for 1-2 minutes (should bubble gently). Then remove, season with salt and black pepper to taste and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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Sounds delicious I’ll have to try it.