Tom and Cathy Ralys and their daughter, Danielle, run Lickety Split at MASS MoCA, but they started in Williamstown. We reached out to them, and they kindly shared one of their favorite recipes, Avgolemono (Lemon Chicken Soup), and where it came from:

“When we first opened in Williamstown we had a banner summer and were so thrilled that the community supported our small business. But we didn’t anticipate the steep drop in customers as the temperature dropped outdoors. Fall was in the air.

We quickly realized that we needed to offer some warm comfort food to keep our loyal customers happy. We started with soup and quiche.

A soup that was a mainstay in Cathy’s Greek family was Avgolemono, Lemon Chicken Soup. We tried it and people loved it. We served a nice hot bowl with a slice of Ciabatta Bread.

We are still serving it to this day at our cafe in MASS MoCA. I’ll share the recipe:

Makes 1 Gallon

Peel, chop, and sauté 2 medium Spanish onions in olive oil.

Add 6 peeled, chopped carrots and continue to sauté until onions are soft.

Add 1 gallon Chicken Stock and bring to a boil. Boil until carrots are soft.

Meanwhile cook 2 cups white rice according to directions.

In a small pan bring 1 quart water to a boil. Add 4 chicken breasts and boil until just tender (20min).

Shred Chicken by hand. Add shredded chicken and rice to pot.

In a blender paddle 2 scoops of stock from soup, 2 whole eggs, and the juice of two lemons. Blend until smooth and foamy. Add to the soup pot.

Easy and simple, but delicious!”

~ Tom, Cathy, and Danielle