Sunday, January 16, 2011

Well-Mannered Sour Meatball Soup / Ekşili Kofte

Writer's Note: The lemon and egg mixture that is used in this soup is called terbiye which literally translated means "manner" (of the Emily Post variety) -- you literally manner your soup.  This soup is perfect on a winter evening, especially if you have a cold.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

300 grams ground beef
1/3 cup basmatic or jasmine rice
1 tsp. dried mint
1 tsp. Aleppo pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
2 slices old bread, crusts removed and torn into small pieces
1 medium onion, grated

2 eggs
2 lemons, juiced
salt to taste

Directions:

Heat your oven to broil or the highest temperature.  Fill a medium-sized pot with water 3/4 full and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Knead the first 10 ingredients (for the meatballs) for at least 5 minutes until well combined.  Make small meatballs no larger than the size of a quarter (or a 2 Euro coin for those on this side of the Atlantic).  Lay the meatballs evenly spaced apart on the foiled baking sheet.  Broil the meatballs for 7-8 minutes until just a little browned on top.

Drop the meatballs into the boiling water and continue to boil over medium heat for 30 minutes.  The meatballs will turn the water into a nice beef broth for the soup.  Turn off the heat under the soup.  You can skim off the oil from the top of the broth or leave it to flavor the soup, as you like.

While the meatballs are cooking, whisk the two eggs with a fork until well combined.  Add the lemon juice and continue to whisk until the color has lightened and it is frothy (at least 3-4 minutes).  This is the terbiye for the soup.  The trick is to add it to the soup without cooking the eggs.  By adding only small amounts of the broth (a tablespoon at a time) you can slowly raise the temperature of the terbiye without cooking the eggs.  Add a tablespoon at a time, continuously stirring, until you have about two cups of broth mixed into the terbiye.  Slowly pour the terbiye into the soup.  Add salt to taste, and a little extra lemon juice if you like, and serve.