Laiik Makes Greek Food: Giouvarlakia
Just in time for winter, we make a very traditional dish, giouvarlakia, which is essentially a Greek meatball soup. Made with meat and rice and finished in a classically Greek avgolemono (a tricky-to-nail egg, lemon and warm broth sauce), giouvarlakia can be eaten on their own or served with warm, crusty bread. So grab your Laiik shoes, head to the market for ingredients, and come make Giouvarlakia with us.
Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins
Portions: 5-6
Ingredients
For the Giouvarlakia
- 500 grams ground beef
- 1 egg
- 1 medium sized onion, grated or finely chopped
- 1 medium sized carrot, grated
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1.25 cups of rice
- 2 tbs of chopped dill
- 2 tbs of chopped parsley
- Salt
- Pepper
For the Soup
- 4 tbs of olive oil
- 1 carrot diced into small cubes
- 1 potato diced into small cubes
- 1 leek finely chopped
- 1.5 liters of warm water
- 2 eggs
- 2 small lemons
- 1 tbs cornflour
- Pepper
- Some finely chopped dill
Execution
Giouvarlakia
- Prepare the rice by soaking and rinsing in water to remove the starch. Allow it to sit until you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Drain the water before using.
- In a bowl, add the ground beef, rice, grated carrot and onions, olive oil, egg, dill and parsley.
- Knead well until thoroughly mixed, form small balls and place on a tray
Soup and Avgolemono
- Chop the carrots and potatoes into small cubes.
- Heat some olive oil in a pot, add the vegetables and gently sauté for 2-3 minutes
- Add the 1.5 liters of warm water, and allow to gently boil
- Add the giouvarlakia to the pot
- Add salt, pepper, and allow to simmer for 25-30 minutes
- Taste the mix for salt and pepper, and add accordingly
- Squeeze the two lemons into a small bowl, add the cornflour and mix well
- In a separate bowl, separate the egg white from the yolk, and whisk the egg white until slightly frothy. Add the yolk and whisk all together.
- Add the lemon juice and cornflour to the whisked eggs
- Add a cup of the broth from the pot to the egg, lemon and cornflour mix.
- Pour the mix back into the simmering pot
- Gently mix by shaking the pot - do not use a utensil to do so
- Serve into a deep bowl, and garnish with some finely chopped dill
