Youverlakia (meatball, lemon and dill soup)

The mince is rolled with rice and fresh herbs, keeping the meatballs light and airy, and the stock is zesty thanks to the avgolemono (lemon–egg) sauce.

Credit: Jeremy Simons

• serves

  4

• prep

  25 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 dried bay leaves
• sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
• finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves, to serve

Meatballs

• 500 g beef mince
• 100 g (½ cup) medium-grain rice
• 1 large onion, grated, excess moisture squeezed out
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp finely chopped dill fronds
• 3 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1 tbsp sea salt flakes pinch of ground white pepper

Avgolemono (lemon-egg sauce)

• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• juice of 1 large lemon, plus extra if needed

Chilling time: 30 minutes

Instructions

1. To make the meatballs, place the ingredients in a bowl and mix well with your hands. Pop in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up, then roll the mixture into 20 small meatballs and set aside.

2. Combine the olive oil, bay leaves, a pinch of salt and 1.5 litres of water in a saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil, then slowly add the meatballs. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through, skimming the surface occasionally to remove any scum. Take off the heat.

3. To make the avgolemono, whisk the eggs in a medium bowl, then pour in the lemon juice and whisk to combine. Very slowly whisk in a few ladlefuls of the warm soup until the mixture is creamy, then pour it back into the soup and gently stir to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt or lemon juice if needed.

4. Divide the meatballs and soup among bowls, sprinkle with parsley and finish with a good grinding of pepper.

Recipe extract from Easy Gluten Free by Helen Tzouganatos, Published by Plum, RRP $39.99, Photography by Jeremy Simons

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.