Avoyolemoni Soupa (Greek egg and lemon soup)

This is a very traditional soup served at Greek Easter after midnight mass to break the Easter fast of Lent. I added a wholefoods spin to my parents’ traditional recipe by soaking the rice (to learn why this is important read this earlier post here) and ensuring that I purchase a certified organic or at the very least a pastured chicken that is not fed GMO grains. 

This is the only time I make a chicken stock (or broth) with a whole chicken. Usually I make a chicken broth using chicken bones only as set out in my online bone broth workshop which you can check out here. 

I love this soup so much not only because of the fond memories it evokes but because of its innocent and comforting flavour. There’s only a handful of ingredients but the trick is all in the technique to make it frothy and creamy without the eggs curdling. 

This is my daughters favourite soup and I hope that she will pass down the recipe to her children and many generations ahead. 

This soup is traditionally served with Greek Cypriot Flaounes. Between these 2 recipes, your wholefoods Greek Easter is sorted. I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do and please tag me in your posts (@staraniseorganic) so I can see your creations. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white rice

• 1 whole organic or pastured chicken

• 3 pastured eggs

• 2 teaspoons unrefined salt plus extra for seasoning chicken meat

• cracked pepper

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice plus extra for seasoning chicken meat
  

Directions:

1. Soak 1 cup rice in 2 cups of water overnight then strain and rinse. 

2. Place 1 whole chicken in a large saucepan and add 1.5L waters. If whole chicken doesn’t fit into your saucepan cut it in half with a sharp knife. 

3. Cover, bring to a boil (this takes approx. 10 minutes) then slow simmer for 3 hours (you can slow simmer for longer e.g. 6 hours but be sure that the heat is very low so that not much if any of the liquid evaporates). The result should be a beautiful chicken stock. Strain the stock into a large bowl (while keeping the chicken in the saucepan, covered, to stay warm). 

4. Add rice to a small saucepan and add 2 cups of the strained stock. Cover, bring to the boil then simmer until rice is cooked through and the stock has been absorbed, stirring occasionally. 

5. Beat eggs well until frothy with hand held blender. 

6. Add 1 cup of stock in a smaller bowl and very slowly pour in the eggs mixing with a stick blender. Add this egg/stock mixture into the large bowl of stock and mix again with the stick blender until the mixture is frothy on the top. Add in the rice, lemon juice, salt and cracked pepper and stir well to combine. 

7. Place the chicken a platter, roughly breaking it up into pieces (you can try to remove as many of the bones as you can at this point).  Season the chicken with additional salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste.

8. Ladle the soup into bowls.  Serve with the chicken either on a side plate or added into the soup. 
   

Serves 6 as a main or 8 as an entrée. It is likely you will have some chicken left over. 

Cypriot Flaounes (cheese and currant slices)

This is a uniquely Cypriot recipe served at Greek Easter. I took my mama’s traditional recipe and “wholefoodised” it to make it gluten-free and maximise nutrient-density. I think of this as a healthy bread /slice with a slightly sweet twist.  As a result kids LOVE it!

Traditionally each flaouna is made individually in the shape of a square about an inch heigh, but for convenience I simply pour the batter into a square baking tray and cut them up in the desired size after they are cooked. 

Ingredients:

• 300g Reggiano Parmigiano (parmesan) cheese (or other cheese or combination of cheeses), roughly chopped

• 1.5 cups (250g) of activated savoury buckwheat 

• 1 cup whole full fat milk

• 1 cup Greek style full fat yogurt (255g Meredith Sheeps Milk European set yogurt with the blue lid)

• ½ cup extra virgin cold pressed olive oil

• ¾ cup (125g) currants (or 100g sultanas)

• 4 eggs

• 1 bunch (approx 50g) mint leaves, roughly chopped, stems removed

• Sesame seeds for decorating the top of the loaf, preferably activated

Directions:

Rehydrate currants/sultanas to bring them back to wholefoods by soaking them in a bowl of filtered water for several hours or overnight then discard soaking water. 

Process activated buckwheat in a nut grinder or Theromix until it resembles a soft fine flour and add it to a large mixing bowl.

Beat the eggs with stick blender, or process them in a food processor or Theromix until fluffy and add to the large mixing bowl.

Grate the cheese by processing it in a food processor or Theromix then add to the large mixing bowl.

Add the rest of the ingredients (other than sesame seeds) to the large mixing bowl and stir until they are well combined to form a batter. 

Pour batter into a 20cm2 square cake tin or rectangular loaf tin lined with baking paper and liberally scatter sesame seeds on top. Alternatively, pour batter into cupcake/muffins cases then scatter with sesame seeds. Makes approx 20-27 muffins depending on size. 

Bake at 180 degrees for 60 mins or until a skewer comes out clean. For a double batch bake for 1 hour 20 minutes. 

Place under heated grill element to brown the top of the slice (if desired). 

Allow to cool before cutting into large square segments of about 10 cm2 (for square cake tin) or 1 inch slices (for loaf tin). Serve at room temperature.

Slices can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days before requiring refrigeration. They can be frozen up to 3 months. 

If you make these please tag me in your post as I’d love to see them. Happy gluten-free Greek Easter! Remember – this is not about deprivation, it’s about healthy swaps! ;-) 

Salted Caramel Tart

This is my original grain-free/gluten-free recipe made with truckloads of dairy (butter and cream) so apologies to my dairy-free friends. Those lucky enough to enjoy and tolerate butter and cream can revel in that perfect balance of cream, butter and maple syrup that makes for a divine caramel – one of the most tantalising taste sensations on the planet. Making this recipe to just lick the spatula is worth it alone. The gelatin powder holds the mixture together. Only a few ingredients go into making the filling but because they are so nutrient-dense (assuming quality ingredients are used) a teeny slice of this tart goes a very long way. It is extremely satiating! So pace yourself as you will live to regret it later! I prefer to make this with just the filling without the crust base (it’s so much quicker and easier, and for me the filling is where all the glamour is anyway). But I include the ingredients and directions for a gluten-free crust base if you want to consume as (or impress someone with) a complete tart - base and all. 

Crust Base Ingredients:

180g flaked, shredded or desiccated coconut
180g dried figs (rehydrate for several hours or overnight in water to bring them back to wholefoods, then snip off hard ends)
OR 180g medjool dates (approx 8-9 dates. Weigh with seeds in, then remove)
4 egg whites (reserve the egg yolks for scrambled eggs, omelettes or mayo)
pinch of unrefined salt
1 tablespoon (20g) coconut oil or butter

Filling Ingredients:

½ tsp unrefined salt (e.g. Himalayan salt, sea salt, Murray River lake salt)
500g organic butter
400ml organic cream
¾ cup (240g) maple syrup (or other natural sweetener of choice)
1 tablespoon grass fed beef gelatin (I use GelPro gelatin powder sold at Broth Bar & Larder) 

Decorating Ingredients (optional):

A swirl of quality melted raw dark chocolate or a scattering of raw cacao nibs

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Directions to make the crust base:

1. Preheat oven to 120 degrees Celsius fan forced.

2. Grease a round 25cm pie dish with olive oil, coconut oil or butter. 

3. Process the ingredients together in a food processor until they reach a crumbly consistency.

4. Press the shell mixture into the pie dish to evenly cover the base and the sides.

5. Bake in oven at 120 degrees Celsius for 50 minutes if using dates, or 60 minutes if using figs, or until golden brown and slightly crispy.

6. Store in fridge until ready to pour in the filling.

Hot Tip! When taking the shell out of the oven be careful not to touch the shell as it may crumble and break. Grab the pie dish not the shell!

Directions to make the filling:

1. Gently heat all of the ingredients except gelatin powder in a saucepan until warm. Slowly add in the gelatin powder whisking constantly until all of the gelatin is fully dissolved. Do not allow to boil. 

2. Pour into round tart dish either directly or into the crust base. Remove any surface bubbles with a spatula. 

3. Refrigerate until set.

4. Decorate as desired. 

5. Keeps for a few days in fridge. 
   

Serves 12. 

CHOCOLATE SALTED CARAMEL VERSION

For a chocolate version, increase the gelatin powder to 2 tablespoons and add 80g of raw cacao powder into the saucepan