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Chicken Soup with Vegetables in lemon & egg sauce – Terbiyeli, Sebzeli Tavuk Corbasi

Chicken and vegetables soup in lemon & egg sauce; Terbiyeli Sebzeli Tavuk Corbasi

Chicken and vegetables soup in lemon & egg sauce; Terbiyeli Sebzeli Tavuk Corbasi

Cold winter days call for a warming meal; this delicious chicken and vegetables soup is ideal to turn  the left over bits of vegetables and cooked meat (you can meat omit for a vegetarian option) into a hearty, delicious soup. With nice crusty bread aside, this chunky soup makes a complete meal for us (and just the thing if you have a cold). Soups, Corba as we call in Turkish, have a special place in Turkish cuisine and the meals mostly start with a soup. In Anatolia, it is very common to have soup to start the day, especially in winter.

There is a special technique used in this soup; lemon juice is beaten with egg yolks to thicken the sauce and add a delicious sort of tangy flavor. This method is called “terbiyeli” in Turkish cuisine and it requires a staged tempering of the egg sauce into the hot liquid, so that the soup won’t curdle.

I have used parsnips, celery, carrots, red onion here; you can also use potatoes, regular onion or any other vegetables you like and needs finishing. I hope you enjoy this delicious, nutritious, warming soup.

Healthy, delicious chicken soup with vegetables in lemon & egg sauce

Healthy, delicious chicken soup with vegetables in lemon & egg sauce

Serves 4 – 6

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes                                     Cooking time: 30 minutes

225 gr/8 oz./1 cup cooked (left over) chicken meat, cut in small chunks (you can omit this for a vegetarian option)

75gr/3oz/scant ½ cup long grain rice (plain or basmati, if you prefer), rinsed

1 large red onion, quartered and chopped

3 celery stick, trimmed and coarsely chopped

3 medium carrots, coarsely chopped

3 parsnips, peeled and cut in small chunks

Handful of fresh flat leaf (Italian) parsley

30 ml/2 tbsp. olive oil

2 lt/ 3 ½ pints/8 cups hot chicken stock (or vegetarian stock, or water)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Lemon & egg sauce:

2 egg yolks, beaten

Juice of 1 lemon

To serve:

Extra virgin olive oil to drizzle when serving (optional)

Turkish red pepper flakes (pul biber) or chili flakes and a wedge of lemon to serve

Crusty bread to serve

Heat the olive oil in a deep heavy pan and stir in the onion, sauté for a few minutes. When the onion begins to color slightly, toss in the celery, carrot and parsnip. Stir and cook for a further 2 minutes. Then add the rinsed rice, giving a good stir. Pour in the hot stock or water and the cooked chicken pieces (if you are using), combine well. Season with salt and freshly grounded black pepper to your taste. Cover and cook over medium to low heat for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked though still have a bite to them.

 Gently pour in a ladle of the hot soup to the egg mixture and blend well.

Gently pour in a ladle of the hot soup to the egg mixture and blend well.

Afterwards, in a small bowl, thoroughly blend the egg yolks with the lemon juice. Gently pour in a ladle of the hot soup to the egg mixture for tempering and blend well. Then slowly pour this egg mixture into the simmering pan; stir constantly so that the eggs don’t curdle. Add the chopped parsley and cook the soup very gently on low heat for 3-5 minutes. Do not allow the soup to boil, or it may curdle. Check the seasoning and turn the heat off.

Warming chicken and vegetables soup in lemon & egg sauce.

Warming chicken and vegetables soup in lemon & egg sauce.

Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls. Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over and sprinkle red pepper flakes, pul biber over, if you like. Serve hot with some crusty bread and a wedge of lemon aside.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

 

Ozlem’s Turkish Table at the Turkish Chefs of the World, “Dunyanin Turk Sefleri” TV program aired on TRT Turk  TV Channel

Click to view on YouTube.

I was delighted to take part in Dunyanin Turk Sefleri, “Turkish Chefs of the World” TV program on TRT Turk TV Channel.

I was delighted to be involved in the Turkish Chefs of the World, “Dunyanin Turk Sefleri” TV program aired on Turkish National TV, TRT Turk channel (aired over 70 countries) a few weeks ago. The program was shot in major gastronomic centers like New York, Berlin, Tokyo, Vienna, Paris and London, exploring world cuisines and the presence of Turkish cuisine around the world. I was involved in their London program; the presenter and Milliyet food author Mr. Sureyya Uzmez and I talked about the vibrant London food scene and the growing presence of Turkish cuisine abroad. I delightfully mentioned the increasing global interest for the healthy, delicious Turkish cuisine and my admiration for your enthusiasm, dear readers, to learn and tackle many aspects of Turkish cuisine, from baklava to Simit, karniyarik to Turkish Delight and more. The interview is in Turkish but I thought you may still enjoy viewing, here is the YouTube link for the program (my part starts as of 2.30 minutes onwards). Hope you enjoy it!

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12 Responses to Chicken Soup with Vegetables in lemon & egg sauce – Terbiyeli, Sebzeli Tavuk Corbasi

  1. jaz January 13, 2014 at 10:26 pm #

    hi ozlem! i really enjoyed watching you on youtube. you talk funny! hahaha!!! i need a translator! love your purse! joyce

    • Ozlem Warren January 14, 2014 at 10:54 am #

      Very kind of you Jaz! You’re right, it needs translating, still glad you enjoyed it : ) Love my doggie purse too!:)

  2. Peri January 14, 2014 at 4:14 am #

    Thrilled to see the video, Ozlem, and a great platform for Turkish food! Congratulations…look forward to more of these.

    I’m so intrigued by today’s soup, what an interesting way to infuse flavor. There is a Parsi gravy using a similar (but not the same) technique where egg, sugar and cider vinegar are well beaten to create this effect. Love the thought of trying this soup one of these winter days.
    XxPeri.

    • Ozlem Warren January 14, 2014 at 10:52 am #

      Thank you Peri; I love hearing similarities in our cuisines; your ingenious use of spices and now the similarity with the lemon & egg sauce; cider vinegar is very fit here, I would love to see your version and try out : ) Ozlem xx

  3. seniordogsabroad January 14, 2014 at 5:10 am #

    [Marked as spam by Antispam Bee | Spam reason: Server IP]
    Özlem, Your interview on TRT was really lovely. It was interesting to learn how very interested all of your students are in all aspects of Turkish food from the lowly simit to even lokum. And I loved your scarf – you looked gorgeous. Tebrikler.

    • Ozlem Warren January 14, 2014 at 10:50 am #

      Merhaba, thank you so much for your kind comments, it was a pleasure to be involved in the program. It really is amazing to feel the enthusiasm of folks abroad for healthy, delicious Turkish food and how keen they are to reproduce the many landmarks, so wonderful. And thank you for the compliment of my scarf; another Turkish product, from Yargici: )

  4. BacktoBodrum January 14, 2014 at 11:11 am #

    [Marked as spam by Antispam Bee | Spam reason: Server IP]
    It’s a bit damp in Bodrum today, just the right climate for a thick chicken soup.

    • Ozlem Warren January 14, 2014 at 8:39 pm #

      Hope you enjoy it, love soup especially in cool winter days : )

  5. April Ozbilgin January 14, 2014 at 2:07 pm #

    Ozlem, this soup looks so delicious and Healthy!!!! Yummy! I am going to make this one day this week. We have been having some cold weather here in Alabama and this will hit the spot!

    • Ozlem Warren January 14, 2014 at 8:38 pm #

      So glad to hear it April, it’s been pretty chilli here too and it just hit the spot 🙂

  6. Phil in the Kitchen January 22, 2014 at 4:43 pm #

    Lovely soup and I can understand why this would be good to start a cold winter day. I’ve used the lemon juice and egg yolk mix before and it works beautifully, although I’m always afraid that it will curdle. I should be more confident. I’m very impressed with your TV appearance even though I couldn’t understand what was said.

    • Ozlem Warren January 22, 2014 at 9:04 pm #

      Thank you Phil, lemon & egg yolk makes a delicious, refreshing sauce; if you incorporate it to the hot soup a step as a time, that minimizes the curdling, I am on the cautious side too. Thank you for your kind words re TV apperarance, I wish it comes up in English too : )

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