Chicken soup with egg and lemon (Kotosoupa avgolemono)

1. Put the whole chicken in a large pot, cover with about 3 litres cold water, bring to the boil and skim off the foam.

2. Add the peeled onion, carrots, celery and salt, cover and simmer gently for 1.5 hours until the meat falls off the bone.

3. Lift out the chicken and vegetables and strain the stock; take the meat off the bones and tear it into bite-sized pieces.

4. Return 2 litres of the stock to the pot, bring to the boil, add the rice and cook for 15-18 minutes until tender.

5. Beat the eggs in a bowl until frothy, add the lemon juice little by little, then, whisking constantly, 2-3 ladles of hot soup one at a time; finally pour it all back into the pot while stirring and don't let it boil again.

6. Return the chicken, season with pepper and serve at once.

Tip: The secret of avgolemono is slow tempering: trickle the hot stock slowly into the eggs, and once combined, never let the soup boil again or it will curdle. Greeks cook it against colds and tiredness too.