[fblike style=”standard” showfaces=”false” width=”450″ verb=”like” font=”arial”] 
I am tired as fook. But I had to share, quickly. Very quickly, as I sit here watching Ruby (the show, not a nickname for Miss Abigail Ruby). This recipe for avgolemono soup is pure sunshine, y’all! Zippy. Clean. Tempting. It reminds me of keylimes, and keeps driving me to the fridge for another lick from the back of a spoon. You can almost taste Santorini. If nothing else, it makes me want to wear white, blue, and yellow, rig a scarf through my hair and slip on hoop earrings. I might even wear flats.
This particular recipe has toothsome meatballs (beef or lamb) bobbing in a golden pool of unconditional love. If you’re going to eat your feelings, start with this cookbook. The last time I constructed this puppy, I rolled the balls in flour, as the recipe indicates (which helps to thicken the soup), but this time I skipped it, hoping to make it gluten-free for a friend (just not as good. Needs Pamela’s Gluten-free baking mix in place of flour). I have to say, The Best Soups in the World is quickly becoming one of my new favorite go-to cookbooks.
I’ll post later all about this weekend and my Austin Food Blogger road trip to San Antonio, sponsored by Chevrolet. This is a sneak at what I made with my farmer’s market finds. What you don’t see is the local ground lamb I used for the meatballs (and the fresh mint).
INGREDIENTS
1 pound ground beef (or ground lamb)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup short grain rice
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch of ground cinnamon (I actually used 3 pinches)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour for dredging meatballs (or gluten-free substitute)
5 cups beef broth
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
DIRECTIONS
1. In a bowl, mix together the ground beef, onion, rice, parsley, dill, olive oil, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Knead the mixture for a minute, with wet hands to prevent sticking, until well blended. Then form into meatballs about an inch in diameter. As you finish making the meatballs, roll them in a platter filled with some flour until coated on all sides and set aside in the refrigerator until needed, unless you are cooking straight away.
2. In a pot, bring the broth and butter to a boil over high heat, add the meatballs a few at a time (so the broth stays at the boil), then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through and the rice is tender, about 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, beat the eggs, then whisk in the lemon juice a little at a time, beating constantly. Add a ladleful of hot broth to the lemon and egg mixture, beating all the time. Now add the lemon and egg mixture to the meatball soup, stirring the whole time, and as soon as it’s added remove from the heat and serve. Enjoy the hell out of it.
