Don’t let the title of this post confuse you! “Giouvarlakia” is the name of the famous Greek soup made with meatballs and finished off with lemony egg mixture known as “avgolemono“. It’s hearty, delicious and very addictive. I made a pot and ate half in the one sitting. All you need is some crusty sourdough bread to go along with the meatball soup and you’re set! I ate this quite a bit in my childhood and I still love it as an adult. It’s perfect to indulge in with the current cold evening weather we are experiencing here.
These meatballs use rice instead of breadcrumbs and the rice expands as they simmer. I used a combination of pork and veal but usually I just use beef mince. I flavoured them with parsley, a little dill and some chopped onion. It’s not a complicated recipe and I will provide you with a basic one to follow.
RECIPE FOR “GIOUVARLAKIA” or GREEK MEATBALL SOUP
- 500 gr of minced beef
- 1 diced onion
- 1 good handful of chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp of chopped dill
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup of long grain rice
- a splash of olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly and form into meatballs. For 500 gr of meat I made about 24.
- Roll each meatball in some plain flour before placing into a pot of boiling water. I find rolling the meatballs in the flour allows them to remain firm and not fall apart during cooking.
- Let the soup come to a boil and then lower the heat and let it simmer for 45 mins.
- The final touch is to add the avgolemono
The avgolemono acts as a sort of thickening agent and finishes the soup off and gives it that extra lift. Be wary about how much lemon you add because it can get quite tangy. We don’t want to over do it! For this amount of soup I used 1 egg and the juice of a half large lemon. The trick is to beat the egg, add the lemon juice and then add 2 ladles of the cooked stock to this mixture. You need to continue beating this mixture so the eggs don’t scramble! We’re looking at tempering the eggs, so be careful. Once this has been done add it to the meatball soup, give everything a good stir and “shake it all about”. Let it rest for a few mins and serve with some sprinkled parsley as a garnish and some crusty sourdough bread to mop up all the delicious sauce.
Print This Delicious Post
{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
My mother adds a splash of tomatoes to turn the avgolemono pink. I see that your laziness doesn’t last as long as mine!
I love giouvarelakia! Good job
I have to try this one… I’m a soups lover and the final touch with the avgolemono sounds so exotic to me!!! A great idea to exchange rice for bread. Mmmmm can’t wait for the cold days to come and try all these comfort food
Pete, I echo your same sentiments as I love this as child and look forward to having a large bowl as soon as the cool weather returns.
I remember the first restaurant I encountered at the top of the Hora on the island of Kea…everything…and I mean everything was served was avgolomeno….but I love it!!!!!!!!!!
Peter although I don’t like winter and love hot weather you are making me miss winter with giouvarlakia, which is one of my favourites.
This is completely new and intriguing to me, Peter. I wonder about the origin of the lemon sauce with the meat. I wouldn’t think to pair those flavors, but the recipe sounds wonderful. And the pics, well, they’re fabulous as always.
I have never tried this before, but it looks wonderful! Thanks for teaching me something new today!
This is one of my favorite dishes. If I’m in a bad mood it always cheers me up. I particularly like your center picture with the lemon reamer in the background. It’s really lovely.
looks very interesting… will have to give it a try…
thanks for sharing…
That is really interesting using the lemony egg mix at the end. I bet the egg gives it a nice richness which is then cut by the lemony tang. The whole soup sounds yummy, I like the idea of the rice in the meatballs too. We are also having cold and very rainy weather here. I just got back from a music festival where we were all knee deep in mud!
Those meatballs are perfect for the kind of weather we are having over here. Oh yeah, fall is finally here! My mom used to make meatballs with rice too and they were so delicious!
Wow – delicious! The lemony soup sounds so fresh and perfect for this time of year.
Also, I looooove those brown bowls. Gorgeous!
Ahh, I’m learning more and more from you every day. What a delicious looking soup!
Enjoy your cool weather. Sounds kind of good to me.
CONGRATS on winning the joust! I knew you would.
Fabulous! That soup looks incredibly delicious! I’ll have to make “Giouvarlaka” very soon…
Cheers,
Rosa
This looks absolutely lovely, Peter. I really must try it.
the scene with the bowls is so serene and delicious.
I have to try this! Delicious: my mouth is watering just at the thought of it. Thanks for sharing.
An all-time favorite of mine, Peter. We just had this last week when the cooler weather finally kicked in and were reminded of what a great dish it is. Yours looks fantastic
Oh man, Peter, you’re totally giving me giouvrelakia cravings. As soon as the weather cools down. I love to have a bit of cabbage salad on the side as well. Once the weather cools down. Oh, did I already say that?
Just discovered your beautiful blog.
It’s a chilly morning in Cleveland and your soup looks mighty inviting.
Yum. I bet I could roll the meatballs in a bit of rice flour instead of wheat and be able to enjoy this wonderful soup. Alas no chilly evening here in Florida so I just crank up the air conditioner and pretend that the days are cooling off.
i definitely will try this out, P! i’ve been eye-ing this recipe from Cuisine magazine, i think for such a long time. now you’ve got me to really get myself going! meatballs in lemony sauce? i won’t say no!!
hello Peter,
Made just like you mentioned, but started off with some beef stock instead of water, and use lime instead of lemon- cuz thats what i had at home. It smells gr8 n cant wait to see what hubby has to say 
i’m late with my comment this time, as i waited 2 days , and i just made this dish yup we havin it for dinner
Thanks !
yowza, that sounds good. i’m a sucker for anything that has an egg in it that doesn’t really seem like it should have an egg in it. like soup.
Another amazing soup — I love the bowls that you used to serve the soup as well, it makes for a nice contrast of colors. Beautifully done!
Yum – that looks and sounds wonderful! I love the fresh green garnish on the plated photos. I’m still hoping you’ll do mousaka soon!
It looks amazing and sounds delicious. Will definitely have to try it out.
What a wonderful recipe!!! Love your site!
I was looking for other greek food blogs after I saw an easy Spanakopita recipe from http://www.foodista.com The recipe was so easy to make and since i never had any greek recipes before, i thought id try to find out more. What a great recipe and a great website you have here! Do drop by foodista and see the different dishes they have already made Cheers!
This is one of those delicious things that I’ve eaten often, but have never made myself… this looks like a good recipe to start off with.
I haven’t had it with meatballs – sounds good! Avgolemono in chicken broth with a bit of rice added is the thing I crave when I’ve been sick. So nourishing and delicious!
i love the look of that soup – now that the weather has cooled down, avgolemono is the best antidote for a cold