A light lemon sauce with a tangy, zesty edge. Unlike its Béarnaise or Hollandaise cousins, Lemon Sauce (Greek Avgolemono) doesn’t use butter and melts in your mouth. It is traditionally added to chicken dishes (especially the famous avgolemono soup) or as a sauce for stuffed cabbage leaves, grilled fish or meatballs.
Lemon sauce is delicious with asparagus – flavoured with a little saffron or white pepper. Greek Avgolemono is highly versatile; swap out lemons for lime or add fresh herbs. The sauce is creamy with a sumptuous texture but without the calorie-laden butter. 🍋
Making Avgolemono (Greek Lemon Sauce)
You will need a jug, bain-marie, two large eggs, two lemons (juiced and zest of one), a pinch of salt, three-quarters teaspoon of cornflour, and one/two tablespoons of stock—seasoning of your choice.
Separate the eggs
Put the egg whites into the bain-marie and egg yolks into a separate bowl.
Whisk the egg yolks
Whisk the egg yolks with three-quarters of a teaspoon of cornflour. Stir in the lemon juice and zest. Set aside
Whisk the egg whites
In the top of the bain-marie (heat off), whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until light and frothy.
Combine the two
Turn the bain-marie to medium-low heat and slowly drizzle in the egg yolk mixture. Whisk gently until the sauce starts to thicken. It takes about 2-3 minutes. You can now slowly add the stock until you reach the desired consistency. Start with one tablespoon of stock. The avgolemono sauce needs to cook for another 5-6 minutes. Add more stock once it’s thickened to get to your desired consistency.
See Notes below on seasoning.
The result is a delicious light lemony sauce to accompany meat, fish or vegetables.
Lemon Sauce; notes on the Stock and Seasoning
Use the stock from whatever dish you add the lemon sauce to, chicken or vegetable water. Or add a cup of premade stock of your choice, which has been boiled and then allowed to cool slightly. You can add seasoning, a pinch of white pepper, a generous grinding of black pepper, some finely ground saffron, or chopped herbs. Dill and fennel pair very well with chicken or asparagus, but also think about lemon thyme or tarragon.
This method may appear a little fussy as many recipes make the Avgolemono sauce all in one pan, but if you overheat it, it may split and taste too eggy because it is overcooked. It will also lose its unique airy character.
The sauce must be light, complementing and not dominating the accompanying dish.
Lemon Sauce (Greek Avgolemono)
Equipment
- 1 bain-marie
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs (separated)
- pinch salt
- 2 lemons (juiced and zest of one)
- 1-2 tbsp stock of your choice
- seasoning – dill, saffron, white pepper etc
Instructions
- Put the egg whites into the bain-marie and egg yolks into a separate bowl (ideally a jug).
- Whisk the egg yolks with three-quarters of a teaspoon of sieved cornflour. Stir in the lemon juice and zest. Set aside
- In the top of the bain-marie, (heat off) whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until light and frothy.
- Turn the bain-marie to medium-low heat and slowly drizzle in the egg yolk mixture. Whisk gently until the sauce starts to thicken. About 2-3 minutes. You can now slowly add the stock until you reach the desired consistency. Start with one tablespoon of stock. The avgolemono sauce needs to cook for another 5-6 minutes. Add more stock once its thickened to get to your desired consistency.
- Use the stock from whatever dish you add the lemon sauce to, chicken or vegetable water or add a cup of premade stock of your choice, which has been boiled and then allowed to cool slightly. You can add seasoning; pinch white pepper, a generous grinding of black pepper, pinch finely ground saffron, or chopped herbs. Dill and fennel work pair very well with chicken or asparagus but also think about lemon thyme or tarragon?
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