This week has been filled with so many emotions — fear and sadness, anxiety and angst. As so many Angelenos have said, I could never have imagined so much devastation. Family and friends have lost their homes, and there is nothing I can say to comfort them. 

On Thursday afternoon, after seeing all the wreckage from the terrible fires, I wanted to take action and do something for my city, like feed the firemen. But my body was wracked with chills, so I headed to bed. Sick with flu, I watched the coverage of the fire and listened to the many accounts of loss. Each morning, I awoke to more bad news and concerned WhatsApp messages from my Israeli cousins and their children. “Do not worry,” I replied to each of them. “We are safe, thank G-d!” I did not say how heartbroken we all are.

In the summer of 1983, I was returning to Los Angeles from a trip to Paris to visit my cousins. As the plane was descending over the city, I looked out of my window and I saw the vast network of freeways with the flow of teeny cars. Just as I spotted the iconic big brown Randy’s Donuts sign, the captain turned on Randy Newman’s summer hit song “I love L.A.”! 

I was so happy to come home to the sunshine. I loved L.A. Later, that song became the anthem of the ‘84 Olympics. Now, you can hear it all over social media — it has become the anthem for these past few days. 

I saw a meme that actually brought tears to my eyes: “I’ve never felt so close to my city. I’ve never loved LA as much as I have this week.”

Whether you are fighting one of the winter flus going around like me, or heartsick like everyone I know, there is nothing more comforting than chicken soup.

This Friday night, I was in the mood for something a little different than my usual chicken soup. At first, I thought about the chicken soup with rice and veggies that my mom would sometimes make. But in my online search for recipes, I kept seeing a Greek soup called “avgolemono,” a lemony chicken soup. 

When I first married Neil, I found it so odd that he loved adding a generous squeeze of fresh lemon to his chicken soup. After a while of watching him, I decided to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised by the burst of fresh citrus flavor and I have been a big fan ever since. 

My husband’s maternal grandmother emigrated to America from the Greek island of Rhodes over a century ago. She brought all her Sephardic and Greek culinary traditions with her, so it makes sense that Neil relished the flavor of lemon in chicken soup. 

The first step in avgolemono is to simmer a whole chicken with aromatics to make the broth. For a special Sephardic touch, I improvised by adding saffron, which really added a warm earthy flavor and a golden tinge. The cooked chicken is removed from the pot, deboned and shredded, then added back into the soup just before serving. 

The final step in making the avgolemono is to beat fresh eggs with lots of lemon juice. When the mixture is a pale yellow and thrillingly frothy, you fold it into the soup, transforming the broth into a velvety, creamy delight. 

There’s an old Ladino saying — “Los huesos vinieron a su lugar, which translates to “my bones fell back into place.” That’s how this soup made me feel. 

My version of avgolemono is a truly delicious soup that combines my mother’s chicken and rice recipe with the Greek touch of fresh creamy citrus flavor. So delicious and hearty! 

We sure hope you try this recipe, and we pray for the speedy recovery of our beloved city. 

—Rachel

Rachel’s Avgolemono

2-3 pound whole chicken, washed and patted dry

12 cups filtered water

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

3 celery stalks with leaves, finely chopped

10 saffron threads 

1 cup white rice, rinsed and drained

2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped 

2 Tbsp chicken consommé powder

3 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice 

1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley 

Extra virgin olive oil 

Flaky salt 

Place chicken and water in a large pot. Cook over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the onion, celery and saffron. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour. Stir occasionally and skim off any fat that comes to the surface. 

Remove the chicken from the pot and carefully pull the flesh from the carcass. Remove skin, shred the chicken and set aside.

Pour the soup through a strainer. Return the broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Add the rice, chopped tomatoes and consommé powder and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes until the rice has cooked. 

Cover pot and reduce heat to low.

Using a stand mixer or a whisk, gently beat the eggs and lemon juice until thick and frothy. 

Gradually whisk in a half cup of chicken stock to the egg mixture, making sure not to scramble the eggs.

Pour the egg and soup mixture into the pot and stir gently until well combined. Add the chicken back to the pot and season with salt and pepper, then add the fresh parsley.

Serve soup with a generous drizzle of good olive oil and flaky salt.

Sharon Gomperts and Rachel Emquies Sheff have been friends since high school. The Sephardic Spice Girls project has grown from their collaboration on events for the Sephardic Educational Center in Jerusalem. Follow them
on Instagram @sephardicspicegirls and on Facebook at Sephardic Spice SEC Food. Website sephardicspicegirls.com/full-recipes.