The Slow-Cooked Sentence

Wring me out

Rachael Conlin Levy
“Rainstorm” courtesy of Frank.lin.

Rain every afternoon.
Thunder and lightening between me and my husband.
My one-year-old learns to use a squirt gun.
A nasty bug steamrolls over one son.
My mother-in-law mops up vomit at the movies.
Then, finally, the sun shines and I make soup.

In the bowl:

Turkish yogurt soup with tiny meatballs

Photo courtesy of Marcel Levy

Turkish yogurt soup with tiny meatballs

Turkish yogurt soup with tiny meatballs
Adapted from “The Essential Mediterranean” by Nancy Harmon Jenkins

Serves 8

1/2 to 3/4 cup finely chopped onions
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup long-grain rice (I used medium grain)
Boiling water
Sea salt
1/2 pound ground lamb
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1/4 cup minced fresh dill
2 tablespoons minced mint
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper (I used 1/8 tsp. cayenne)
1 large egg
2 to 3 tablespoons bread crumbs
5 cups chicken broth (I used 7 cups)
1 egg
4 cups whole milk yogurt
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons dried mint

Saute the onions with 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes. Add the rice and 1 cup of boiling water with salt to taste. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the rice has softened and absorbed most of the liquid. Set aside.

In a bowl mix the lamb, parsley, dill and mint, lots of black pepper and the red pepper. Stir in the rice. Add the egg and enough bread crumbs to make a mixture that is moist but will stick together. Form into small meatballs, about the size of a gumball.

Combine the chicken broth with 1 cup of water and bring to a simmer. Add the meatballs in batches and let simmer until they rise to the top, indicating they’re done. Remove them with a slotted spoon and set aside.

In a bowl mix the egg yolk and yogurt. Whisk in 1 cup of cold water. Measure out 1 cup of soup broth and stir it in, then pour the yogurt into the soup and stir. Simmer very, very gently for about 10 minutes. In the last few minutes add the meatballs and simmer just long enough for them to heat thoroughly.

Ladle into bowls and dribble a small amount of mint butter over the top.



One response to “Wring me out”

  1. Teddy! says:

    wow but cool hey check out my blog at http://teddy-teddytalks.blogspot.com thanks!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe: rss | email | twitter