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By Root 288 0

with the white wine and cook until it completely evaporates. Add the roasted chicken carcasses. Season liberally with kosher salt and pepper. Cover with water by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer gently for 1 hour. Add 4 leg-thigh pieces and continue to simmer for another 40 to 45 minutes, until the chicken is tender. Skim off the scum that rises at the beginning. Lift out the leg-thigh joints and, when cool enough to handle, pull off and reserve the meat. Discard the carcasses and any stray bones, and skim a little fat from the soup if you like. Bring soup to a boil, add the orzo, and cook for another 8 to 10 minutes.

While the orzo is cooking, make the Avgolemono. Get everything together so you can work quickly. Draw off 2 cups of the chicken broth, without any of the vegetables (or orzo), and return the picked chicken meat to the soup. Slowly drizzle the warm chicken broth into the egg yolks, whisking all the time. Place the egg whites in a food processor and turn it on. When the whites begin to froth, after about 30 seconds, add the lemon juice, keeping the motor running all the time. When the whites are very frothy and thick, another 45 to 60 seconds, add the dill, and process for 10 to 15 seconds more while you season liberally with salt and pepper. Pour in the egg yolk mixture and immediately turn the machine off. Pour the Avgolemono over the soup and serve at once, as it will quickly start to deflate.

If you will not be serving the soup right away, cook the orzo separately, cool down, and then add, and warm through, just before topping with the Avgolemono.

For a lighter soup, skip the roasting of the chickens and simply simmer the chicken until tender.

LENTIL SOUP

FAKES

SERVES 4 TO 6

Like all starch-based soups, this one will thicken as it cools. If you make it the day before, hold on to any reserved cooking liquid so you can thin the soup when you reheat, if it’s too thick. You can always use the liquid in another soup or a braise, as it’s really a lentil stock, full of flavor from all the vegetables and aromatics.

2 smoked ham hocks

Water, as needed

2 tablespoons blended oil (90 percent canola, 10 percent extra-virgin olive)

2 Spanish or sweet onions, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

1 Idaho potato, peeled and finely chopped

2 large carrots, finely chopped

8 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped

2 fresh bay leaves or 3 dried leaves

3 large sprigs fresh thyme

1 pound brown lentils

1 cup red wine

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

Kosher salt and cracked black pepper

cup grated kefalotiri cheese

2 scallions, green part only, sliced on the diagonal

Extra-virgin olive oil

In a large pot, cover the ham hocks with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside, discarding the water.

In a large pot, warm the blended oil over medium-high heat. Add all the vegetables, including the garlic, as well as the bay leaves, and thyme, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes to soften without browning. Add the lentils and stir for 1 minute, then deglaze the pot with the red wine and sherry vinegar. Simmer until the wine is completely evaporated; then add the ham hocks and enough water to cover everything by a good inch. Bring to a boil and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Drain the lentils and vegetables, reserving all the liquid in a large measuring jug. Return the solids to the empty cooking pot.

In a food processor, combine about a third of the lentil mixture with 2 cups of the cooking liquid. Purée until completely smooth. Return this puréed mixture to the pot with the remaining lentils and mix. Add enough of the cooking liquid to get the desired consistency—again, I am partial to a hearty style but you may prefer it with a little more liquid. Taste for seasoning.

Ladle into bowls and top with a big pinch of kefalotiri, some sliced scallion greens, and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

If you want the meat from the ham hock in the soup,