Tarhana Çorbası — Tarhana Soup

A warming, tangy soup made from dried fermented tarhana, tomato and butter, a Turkish winter favourite.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 5 min
Cook: 20 min
Total: 25 minutes
Vegetarian
✅
Nuts
❌
Serves
4 people
Difficulty
Very Easy

Ingredients

  • 4 tbsp dried tarhana (from Turkish shops or online)
  • 1 litre cold water
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp Turkish red pepper paste (biber salçası) or tomato purée
  • Salt to taste
  • For the topping: 30g butter
  • For the topping: 1 tsp dried mint
  • For the topping: 1/2 tsp paprika
  • Lemon wedges, to serve

Method

  1. Mix the tarhana with 250ml of the cold water in a bowl and stir to a smooth paste.

  2. Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat, stir in the pepper paste for 1 minute, then add the remaining water and bring to a simmer.

  3. Pour in the tarhana paste, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often, until thick and smooth. Add a splash of hot water if too thick, and season.

  4. Melt the butter, stir in the mint and paprika and sizzle for 20 seconds.

  5. Serve the soup with the spiced butter drizzled over and lemon wedges.