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Hot Yogurt and Spinach Soup

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Photograph by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Sophie Strangio

To make this rich and creamy soup, a riff on Yayla Çorbasi from the mountain meadows of northern Turkey, cookbook author Yasmin Khan seeks out the best quality whole-milk yogurt. It’s the star of the dish, so it’s gotta be good! This recipe comes from Khan’s book, Ripe Figs: Recipes and Stories from Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus, and it’s guaranteed to soothe. Heating up the yogurt slowly with the hot rice and broth mixture ensures it won’t split.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    4 Servings

Ingredients

Soup

1 quart low-sodium chicken broth
½ cup short- or medium-grain white rice (such as Turkish baldo rice or arborio), rinsed
1 large egg yolk
2¼ cups plain whole-milk yogurt
1 Tbsp. plus 1½ tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. dried mint
Kosher salt, freshly ground white or black pepper
7 oz. mature spinach, tough stems trimmed, coarsely chopped

Topping and assembly

3 Tbsp. salted butter
1 Tbsp. plus 1½ tsp. dried mint
1½ tsp. Aleppo-style pepper

Preparation

  1. soup

    Step 1

    Bring broth to a simmer in a large saucepan; add rice. Return to a simmer, cover, and cook, adjusting heat as needed to maintain a simmer, until rice is al dente, 12–15 minutes.

    Step 2

    Whisk egg yolk, yogurt, cornstarch, and ¾ cup plus 2 Tbsp. lukewarm water in a medium bowl. Add rice mixture a spoonful at a time, whisking after each addition, until combined. Pour back into saucepan; set over medium-low heat. Add mint and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add spinach; cook just until wilted, about 2 minutes. Season soup with more salt and pepper.

  2. topping and assembly

    Step 3

    Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; stir in mint and Aleppo-style pepper. Remove from heat. Ladle soup among bowls and drizzle with spiced butter.

Yasmin Khan's Ripe Figs cookbook
Adapted from "Ripe Figs: Recipes and Stories from Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus." Copyright © 2021 by Yasmin Khan. With permission of the publisher, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.

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