Recipe - Mageritsa (Easter Lamb Soup)

Karen Mintzias
Intestines, heart, lungs,
& liver of 1 lamb.
1 lamb's feet and tripe, opt
1 Lamb's head (optional)
Salt
2 Lemons (juice only)
1 small Bunch scallions; chopped
2/3 cup Chopped fresh parsley
One half cup Chopped fresh dill
One fourth cup Chopped celery leaves
6 tablespoon Raw longgrain white rice
One half teaspoon Aniseed (optional)
Freshly ground pepper
3 Whole eggs

Note: If using the lamb's head, wash it, then soak it in cold water for 3
hours. Drain. Cut the head in half, using a sharp knife, and tie with a
clean string.

If using the lamb's feet and tripe, prepare as follows: If tripe is not
parially cooked, cut open with a sharp knife and clean the inside
thoroughly under running water. Put in a pan with cold salted water to
cover and soak for 30 minutes, then drain and wash with cold water. Cut
into small pieces and put in a large soup pot with the lamb's feet. cover
with cold water, and simmer until tender, adding salt to taste during the
last minutes of cooking. Cube the tripe, remove the meat of the feet from
the bones, and add to the mageritsa at the same time as the cutup
intestines, adjusting the liquid by adding more water.

Clean the intestines thoroughly by turning them inside out, using a long
skewer or stick (this turning will be quicker if the intestines are first
cut into 2foot lengths), then wash under cold running water until clean.
Rub the intestines with salt and the juice of One half lemon, rinse again in
cold water and drain. Braid the intestines or tie the ends together with
clean string. Put in a large soup pot with the lamb's head, if using, and
cove with cold water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, skim, and
simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the intestines, drain them, and cut into 1/4
inch pieces with the scissors and set aside to add to the soup later. (Use
the remaining portion of the head for another dish.)

Bring the soup stock to a boil and add the scallions, parsley, dill, and
celery leaves. Cut the heart, lungs, and liver into small bitesized cubes,
and add them to the soup, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the rice, cutup
intestines, aniseed, salt and pepper to taste and continue simmering until
the rice is tender, approximately 15 minutes, adding more water as needed
and the brains during the last few minutes of cooking.

Half an hour before serving, bring the soup to a boil, then remove from the
heat and prepare the avgolemono: Beat the eggs for 2 minutes. Continue to
beat, gradually add the remaining lemon juice. Then 1 to 2 cups of the hot
soup by droplets, beating steadily, until all has been added. Add the
avgolemono to the soup. Stir over minimum heat until thickened. Serve warm
but avoid boiling the soup after adding the avgolemono.

A richer Mageritsa can be made by sauteing the scallions in 3 tablespoons
butter or oil before adding to the soup.

From: "The Food of Greece" by Vilma Liacouras Chantiles. Avenel Books, New
York.

Typed for you by Karen Mintzias

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini