Avgelemono Soup for One

I love Greek food, and this little soup is one of my favorites. Technically, the name means “egg and lemon,” and there’s no sign of egg or egg replacement here, except for a tiny little pinch of Black Himalayan Salt, which has a slightly sulfurous taste, and a tiny pinch of turmeric for coloring. Interestingly, without the egg, the lemon really sings!

½ teaspoon olive oil

¼ small white or yellow onion, chopped

½ small shallot, chopped

½ medium carrot, diced

¼ stalk celery, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

¼ cup basmati rice (or long grain brown rice)

1 ½ cups water

Pinch black Himalayan salt (or sea salt, if you don’t have the other)

Tiny pinch of turmeric

Zest of ¼ lemon

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 1/3 teaspoon miso

½ TBLSP tahini

1 TBLSP nutritional yeast

1 TBLSP chopped fresh dill or parsley

1. Heat the olive oil in a small pot over medium heat. Add in the onion, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until it’s soft. Add the shallots, carrots, and celery, cooking for another 4 minutes, until the carrots are just barely tender. Add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute more. Add sloshes of water, if necessary, to keep the veggies from sticking.
2. Add the (raw) rice to the pot. Mix it in for a minute, to toast the outsides of it, and then add the remainder of the water and the salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer uncovered for 20-25 minutes, until the rice is cooked through.
3. In a small bowl, mix together the turmeric, zest, lemon juice, miso, tahini and nutritional yeast. Add this mixture into the soup once the rice is cooked through. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
4. Use an immersion blender, or give the soup a little visit to the food processor, to make this soup smoooooth.
5. Stir in the dill or parsley at the very last minute and serve.

Pictured with the soup is an English muffin and slices of Gloucestershire with Onions and Chives Faux Cheese from Sky Michael Conroy's "Non-Dairy Evolution Cookbook."