Similar to the Greek soup avgolemono, this Turkish Lemony Chicken Soup with Rice is creamy and easy to whip up, even during those busy weeknights. Plus a review of the cookbook, The Weeknight Mediterranean Kitchen by Samantha Ferraro.

Chicken soup is one of those iconic dishes that can be found in almost any culture around the world. Maybe that’s why this beloved comfort food is known to feed the soul and cure the common cold. My kids positively love chicken noodle soup, which I make for them weekly for their school lunches.

When we visit our beloved mediterranean restaurant, they always order avgolemono, the Greek chicken soup made with eggs, lemon and rice. So when they saw this recipe for the Turkish version of lemony chicken soup with rice from my friend’s cookbook they begged me to make it.

I have known Samantha Ferraro from the blog The Little Ferraro Kitchen for years. She’s one of the first bloggers I befriended in my 10 years of blogging. Samantha is a girl after my heart, cooking amazing and incredible Mediterranean recipes that reflect her Jewish, Italian and Turkish background.

Samantha and I wrote our two cookbooks around the same time, following similar deadlines from our publishers. We followed each other’s progress and cheered each other as we each crossed the finish line and turned in our babies. And now, we are reviewing each other’s cookbooks!

If you haven’t heard, there are oodles and oodles of health benefits of following the mediterranean diet. It’s not a surprise considering it is filled with lots of vegetables, healthy grains and of course, extra virgin olive oil. And Samantha’s cookbook, The Weeknight Mediterranean Kitchen, makes it so easy for you to eat these incredible meals.

Know someone who loves to cook, but is intimidated with difficult recipes? Samantha’s recipes are super easy to follow and quick to whip up. Want gorgeous pictures to make you salivate? Samantha is a wonderful photographer and every one of these 80 recipes has a gorgeous photograph.

From appetizers to soups and salads, main meals to desserts, there are all kinds of recipes to fill up your weeknight menu. With recipes like baked feta, shaksuka with lamb spices, jeweled tabbouleh salad and even a rose-saffron creme brulee…. I’m swooning over this cookbook!

But right now, my kids won’t let me go past this Turkish Lemony Chicken Soup with Rice. It is thickened with egg yolks, is super creamy, and of course, lemony good. My kids can’t get enough of it.

I’m sure you will love soup, too, as well as the other fabulous recipes in Samantha’s cookbook. It makes a great gift for the cook in your life, and of course for you, so you can spice up your weeknight meals with some truly incredibly food.