Chef Dimitra
Aegean Island Kakavia (Κακαβιά)
Aegean kakavia is the fisherman’s soup named for the pot itself: small rockfish, potato, onion, lemon, and enough olive oil to turn a poor catch rich.
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Macedonian Youvarlakia Avgolemono (Γιουβαρλάκια Αυγολέμονο)
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Macedonian youvarlakia avgolemono are little beef and rice meatballs simmered in broth, then bound with egg and lemon until the soup turns pale, silky, and properly comforting.
Soups & Stews
Greek
Comfort Food
Weeknight
Make Ahead
25 min
Active Time
40 min cook•1 hr 5 min total
Yield6 servings
Macedonian youvarlakia avgolemono are the winter soup of little meatballs, beef and rice simmered together until the rice swells from inside the balls and gives the broth body. The region is the dish's surname here: in the northern home kitchen the broth is pale, lemony, and gentle, with dill enough to smell fresh but not enough to take over.
The whole dish depends on the avgolemono. You pull the pot from the heat and warm the eggs with hot broth a ladle at a time before they return to the soup. Do that, and the broth turns silky. Rush it, and you've made scrambled egg in a very nice soup, which is a small domestic tragedy and completely avoidable.
I like youvarlakia on a weekday because they taste like a grandmother's long morning without needing one. The rice does some of the thickening for you, the meatballs cook in their own broth, and the lemon wakes the whole pot. Good olive oil, and patience. That is enough.
Youvarlakia takes its name from the Turkish word yuvarlak, meaning round, a clue to the Ottoman-era kitchen shared across Constantinople, Macedonia, and the wider Balkans. In Greek households the dish settled into two main forms: a tomato-red version and the avgolemono version, where egg and lemon turn broth into a pale sauce-soup. The northern style often keeps the pot restrained, with rice in the meatballs and herbs like dill or parsley marking the house.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
minced beef
Quantity
500g
preferably 15% fat
medium-grain rice
Quantity
90g
rinsed and drained
yellow onion
Quantity
1 small, about 120g
finely grated
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
2 tablespoons
finely chopped
dill
Quantity
1 tablespoon
finely chopped, plus extra for serving
large egg
Quantity
1
for the meatballs
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
30ml
chicken broth or light beef broth
Quantity
1.5 litres
carrot
Quantity
1 small, about 80g
finely diced
celery stalk
Quantity
1
finely diced
large eggs
Quantity
2
for avgolemono
fresh lemon juice
Quantity
80ml
cornflour (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
optional, for a thicker avgolemono
extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil
Quantity
1 tablespoon
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| minced beefpreferably 15% fat | 500g |
| medium-grain ricerinsed and drained | 90g |
| yellow onionfinely grated | 1 small, about 120g |
| flat-leaf parsleyfinely chopped | 2 tablespoons |
| dillfinely chopped, plus extra for serving | 1 tablespoon |
| large eggfor the meatballs | 1 |
| fine sea salt | 1 teaspoon |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1/2 teaspoon |
| extra virgin olive oil | 30ml |
| chicken broth or light beef broth | 1.5 litres |
| carrotfinely diced | 1 small, about 80g |
| celery stalkfinely diced | 1 |
| large eggsfor avgolemono | 2 |
| fresh lemon juice | 80ml |
| cornflour (optional)optional, for a thicker avgolemono | 1 tablespoon |
| extra virgin Koroneiki olive oilfor serving | 1 tablespoon |
Equipment Needed
- •wide heavy pot, 26 to 28cm
- •ladle for tempering avgolemono
- •baller or small scale, optional, for evenly sized meatballs
Instructions
- 1
Mix the meatballs
Put the beef, rice, grated onion with its juices, parsley, dill, one egg, salt, pepper, and 30ml olive oil in a bowl. Mix with your hands just until the rice and herbs are evenly carried through the meat. Don't knead it into paste. The youvarlakia should hold together but stay tender.
- 2
Shape the youvarlakia
Wet your hands and roll the mixture into small balls, about 30g each, a little smaller than a walnut. You should have about 24. Set them on a plate while the broth comes up to a simmer.
- 3
Start the broth
Bring the broth to a gentle boil in a wide pot. Add the carrot and celery, then lower the heat so the surface trembles rather than rolls hard. Slip in the meatballs one by one. They will look crowded at first, then settle as the rice begins to swell.
- 4
Simmer gently
Cover the pot partly and simmer for 30 to 35 minutes, until the rice inside the meatballs is tender and the broth has taken a little body from the grains. Skim any gray foam from the surface in the first ten minutes. A hard boil breaks the meatballs and clouds the soup in the wrong way.
If the broth drops below the meatballs, add a little hot water. Keep enough liquid for a soup, not a stew. - 5
Whisk avgolemono
In a bowl, whisk the two eggs until loose and pale, then whisk in the lemon juice. If you want the thicker northern house style, whisk the cornflour with 2 tablespoons of cool water first, then add it to the eggs and lemon.
- 6
Temper the eggs
Take the pot off the heat. Add hot broth to the egg-lemon mixture one ladle at a time, whisking constantly, until the bowl feels warm and you have added about 500ml broth. Warm the eggs slowly and they thicken the avgolemono like silk instead of scrambling. That's the whole trick.
Hot broth goes into the eggs. Eggs do not go straight into the boiling pot. - 7
Finish the soup
Pour the warmed avgolemono back into the pot in a thin stream, shaking the pot by its handles or stirring very gently. Return it to the lowest heat for 2 minutes, only until the soup looks glossy and lightly thickened. Do not let it boil after the avgolemono goes in.
- 8
Serve warm
Rest the soup for 5 minutes, then ladle three or four youvarlakia into each bowl with plenty of lemony broth. Finish with a little dill, a thread of Koroneiki olive oil, and black pepper. Bread belongs beside it. The bowl will ask for it.
Chef Tips
- •Use beef with a little fat. Very lean mince gives tight, dry youvarlakia, and no amount of avgolemono will make them tender again.
- •Medium-grain rice is the right choice because it swells and softens inside the meatballs. Long-grain rice stays more separate, which is good for pilafi, not for this soup.
- •Leftovers keep for 2 days in the refrigerator, but reheat them gently. Once avgolemono is in the pot, boiling is the enemy.
- •Serve with country bread and a small plate of olives. Feta is welcome at the table, but not crumbled into the soup.
Advance Preparation
- •Shape the meatballs up to 8 hours ahead, cover, and refrigerate.
- •The broth can be prepared a day ahead, especially if using homemade chicken broth.
- •If making ahead, simmer the meatballs and broth first, then add avgolemono only when reheating to serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 400g)
Calories
365 calories
Total Fat
22 g
Saturated Fat
7 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
14 g
Cholesterol
150 mg
Sodium
1300 mg
Total Carbohydrates
19 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
21 g
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