What egg-and-lemon soup is a classic Greek dish?

The egg-and-lemon soup that is a classic Greek dish is Avgolemono. Its name combines the Greek words for “egg” and “lemon,” the two ingredients that give the soup its silky texture and bright, tangy flavor.

Avgolemono usually begins with chicken broth, although lamb, fish, meat, or vegetable broth can also be used. Rice, orzo, pastina, or another small starch is often cooked in the liquid. Beaten eggs and lemon juice are then gradually mixed with hot broth before being returned to the pot, a tempering step that helps prevent the eggs from curdling.

The word also describes a sauce, not only a soup. It can thicken dishes such as stuffed vegetables, meatballs, and stews. Magiritsa is sometimes prepared with an avgolemono finish, which explains one common confusion: Magiritsa is the Easter soup, while avgolemono is the egg-lemon preparation used in it and many other dishes. Related egg-and-acid sauces appear in Sephardic, Arab, Turkish, Balkan, and Italian Jewish cuisines.