Avgolemono, Greek egg and lemon chicken soup

Put the washed and dried whole chicken in a large stock pot.

Cut the bigger vegetables and the celery branch in half, halve the onion, and add them to the pot.

Add the oregano, bay leaves, pepper and salt and cover everything with lots of cold water, by at least a good inch.

Lid on, high heat on the largest burner, to bring it to the boil as fast as possible and get through the temperature danger zone.

Once it is boiling hard, turn down to medium, keep everything submerged, and simmer an hour and a half to two hours depending on the size of the chicken, until the meat falls off the bone.

Push the chicken down so it does not stick to the bottom of the pot.

Skim the scum off the top as it forms.

Cut the lemons in half and squeeze, turning the juice to strain the seeds out.

Pick the parsley leaves off the stems and break them up.

Lift the cooked chicken out and let it drain, collecting the juices to go back into the pot.

Bring the stock back to the boil on high heat, add the rice and stir; it cooks in about 15 minutes.

Separate the meat from the skin, fat, bones and cartilage with two forks, pulling it into small flakes rather than big chunks because the broth stays clear; discard the skin and bones.

Cut the cooked carrots up. Press the cooked vegetables in a sieve to squeeze the juices out and add that liquid back to the soup.

Break the eggs and beat them.

Once the rice is cooked, add all the chicken, the carrots and half the parsley and stir well.

Add the beaten egg and mix for about a minute.

Add the lemon juice, stir, taste, and add more salt and pepper. More lemon juice makes it more acidic and refreshing.

Serve with carrots, chicken and rice in each bowl, chopped fresh parsley over, and a little lemon to finish.