Yogurt Soup with Chicken

November 08, 2019 by Gizem in Soup

Last week’s temperature drop in Seattle resulted in me making soup in the middle of August. Given my love of all things with satisfying broths, breaking the rules around soup is totally acceptable, right? Like that time two weeks ago another temperature drop resulted in me getting ramen for lunch followed by a bun bo hue the day after. As long as you have soup in life, everything will eventually be ok.

This yogurt soup, known as “yayla” soup in Turkish is very common in home cooking and is extremely easy to make. The classic recipe only uses rice, but I had some leftover chicken so I threw it in as well. This is the perfect soup to repurpose leftover rice and that rotisserie chicken you bought last week that you are tired of eating.

Soup holds a big part in Turkish cuisine and eating culture. In home cooking, it is a nourishing and economical meal that can feed a large family. It is also a big part of street culture, with late-night soup restaurants frequented after a long day of work or a night out drinking. To this day, nothing makes me feel more at home than a bowl of warm soup. So without further ado, here is my family’s recipe for Yayla Soup.

Yields: 6-8 servings Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

3 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade)

2 cups water

1 egg

1 cup plain yogurt

1 lemon’s juice (about 1/4 cup)

2 cups cooked rice

2 cups cooked and shredded chicken (optional)

1/2 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon dried mint flakes

1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes (preferably Marash or Aleppo)

Preparation

1. Put the vegetable oil and the flour into a large pot. Cook over high heat, stirring, until the flour is a little toasted for 3-5 minutes.

2. Pour in the chicken stock and water into the pot and give it a stir. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. While the stock is boiling, prepare the yogurt mixture. In a large bowl, whisk the egg. Add in the lemon juice and the yogurt and whisk until everything is combined.

4. If you add cold yogurt to hot soup, the temperature difference will cause the yogurt to curdle. To avoid this, take one or two ladlefuls of simmering stock and add it into the yogurt mixture. Stir well. This will help warm up the of yogurt and avoid curdling.

5. While stirring the stock with one hand, slowly pour in the warmed-up yogurt mixture into the stock. Keep stirring. Add in the cooked rice, shredded chicken and salt. Bring the soup to a boil again and simmer for 5 more minutes.

6. Turn off the heat. Sprinkle with all the dried mint and the red pepper.

7. Serve while hot with a couple slices of bread on the side. Enjoy!

Rice Pudding, Two Ways (Sütlaç)

November 04, 2019 by Gizem in Dessert

For me rice pudding = childhood. When I was a kid, pasteurized milk in plastic jugs or carton boxes didn’t exist. In the city, where I grew up, my mom used to buy daily milk in glass bottles. In the southern coast countryside, where I spent every summer with my grandparents, we used to buy raw milk in gallons. On the arrival day of the milkman, the kitchen would be in full production mode. As soon as the fresh milk arrived, my grandma would set her cauldron size pot on the stove and bring all of the milk to a boil. Most of the time the milk got used to make yogurt and sometimes (which were the best times), half of the milk would be kept to make rice pudding. To this day, I can remember the fragrant smell of rice cooking with milk filling the whole house.

Rice pudding gets a bad rep. When I told Cesar that I was going to make rice pudding, he had a slightly hopeless look on his face. I could see his eyes screaming, “whyyyy?” A lot of people think rice pudding is this bland dish with no depth of flavor but wait until my recipe knocks your socks off. I got this recipe from my mom who adapted it from her grandmother’s recipe. It has the history of four generations. Indeed, when Cesar finally tasted the end result, the first think he said was “this is not rice pudding, this is crack pudding!”

I decided to make this rice pudding two ways. The first way is the home style version which is my favorite and got voted as Cesar’s favorite too. The second way is the bakery/restaurant style rice pudding in which the pudding is baked for a caramelized crust. The end result is a bit more visually pleasing, has a smoky, burnt flavor but is a lot less creamy. I love the creaminess of the home style version, served cold with cinnamon on top. You can make a batch of rice pudding and put a couple of the bowls in the oven and decide for yourself which one you like better.

Tips:

* I really like using jasmine rice for this recipe. It is fragrant and it adds a depth of flavor to the pudding. I would not recommend basmati rice, sushi rice or risotto rice.

* I use 2% pasteurized cow milk in this recipe. You can also use whole milk and 1%. I would not recommend non-fat milk. A little bit of fat helps make this a very creamy pudding. You can also use raw cow milk but make sure to boil it for at least 15-20 minutes before you get started with my recipe. I have never tried this recipe using other kinds of milk like goat milk, almond milk, coconut milk etc. If you do, please comment below and let me know how it turns out.

* Mastic, also called mastic gum and arabic gum, is the resin of the mastic tree. In Turkish we call it damla sakizi which translates into “teardrop gum”. The sap of the tree is dried which results in a translucent crystal like resin (see the photo). It is very aromatic, with a flavor like pine and cedar trees. You can find mastic in specialty spice shops, Middle Eastern, Turkish or Greek grocery stores or on Amazon. I love the piney flavor that mastic adds to the rice pudding. It might sound weird but it works wonders. But, it is also completely fine to omit it from the recipe.

* There are a lot of rice pudding recipes out there that use cornstarch as a thickening agent. I call those fake puddings. They save you 10 mins but you end up losing a lot of depth in flavor. This recipe thickens naturally with the starch of rice and by the water in the milk evaporating over time.

Yields: 8-10 8 oz ramekin bowls Time: 40 mins (+20 mins for baked version)

Ingredients

1 cup jasmine rice*

1 1/2 cup water

6 1/3 cup 2% milk*

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-2 pieces of mastic (optional)*

Preparation

1. Rinse the rice and transfer to a pot. Pour in the water, cover the lid and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let cook for 8-10 minutes. The rice absorbs the water pretty quickly, pay close attention to ensure the rice is not burning.

2. While the rice is cooking, pour all the milk in a separate pot. Bring the milk to a boil, stirring often. Boiling milk overflows very easily, keep an eye on the heat and reduce it if too high.

3. After the rice is done, transfer the rice, with all of the remaining water (if any) into the pot with boiling milk. Cook, while stirring constantly for 15-20 minutes. After 20 mins the milk should start thickening. If it hasn’t continue cooking until it thickens. If you stop stirring the milk can burn very easily.

4. Once the milk has thickened, add in the sugar and the salt. Smash the mastic piece with the back of a spoon and add into the pudding.

5. Continue stirring and let the pudding simmer for another 2-3 minutes.

6. Transfer to bowls or ramekins while hot.

For home style rice pudding:

7. Let cool down until room temperature and transfer to the fridge. Serve with ground cinnamon sprinkled on top.

For the restaurant style, baked rice pudding:

7. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

8. Transfer the ramekin with hot pudding on a baking tray. If not using ramekins, make sure your bowls are oven safe. Fill the baking tray with cool tap water until the water reaches almost half the height of the ramekin.

9. Bake for 15 minutes on the top rack of the oven. In the last 5 minutes, turn on the broiler to 400 degrees F. Broil until browned. The browning happens really fast so I recommend keeping an eye on the pudding to avoid burning it.

10. Let it cool and transfer to the fridge. Serve with ground cinnamon sprinkled on top.

Bulgur Rice Pilaf

October 31, 2019 by Gizem in Dinner

Bulgur is a very commonly used whole grain in Turkish cuisine and a very versatile ingredient. It is also quite high in protein and fiber. This bulgur rice pilaf is the perfect alternative to white rice, brown rice or quinoa and pairs well with pretty much any vegetable or protein. The tomatoes and peppers in this recipe make this pilaf very fragrant and flavorful which reminds me of home.

Finding bulgur in grocery stores can be a bit challenging depending on where you live. So far I have been able to find it in bulk sections of grocery stores, Turkish supermarkets and at Whole Foods. Bob's Red Mill brand also sells bulgur and you can find their products on Amazon and most large grocery stores.

I prefer to cook any type of rice on the stove. It is the Turkish way and it is what I am used to. To eliminate the guess work or burnt rice, my best hack is to use a sauté pan with a glass lid. You can see when the water boils and when your rice is done and by not removing the lid you end up with perfect, fluffy rice.

Yields: 6-8 servings Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 medium yellow onion, diced

3 small or medium tomatoes, diced

1 anaheim (spicy) or cubanelle (sweet) pepper (if can't find either 1/2 green bell pepper), diced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cups large grain bulgur

Salt and pepper to taste

3 and 1/2 cups of water or stock

Preparation

1. Dice all the tomatoes, onion and the green pepper.

2. In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, cook the onions in 2 tablespoons olive oil until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat and add the peppers, cook for another 2-3 minutes.

3. Add the tomato paste, all the bulgur and salt and pepper. Stir for 2-3 minutes until the tomato paste is incorporated.

4. Add the water (or stock) and give everything a stir. Cover it with a lid. Once the water starts boiling, turn the heat to low and cook for about 15 minutes.

5. Remove from heat and rest for 8-10 minutes before serving.