Tangy Seasonal Soup with Tasty Meatballs

In Turkish this recipe is called Terbiyeli Köfte and again it is a classic. This is one of the very first Turkish dishes I ever attempted back in those distant Ankara days after watching my mother-in-law prepare it several times, and seeing how much the family enjoyed it. So for us it is forever connected with her and the time when our children were young. In fact we call it Babaanne’s yemek or Granny’s meal! According to Angie Mitchell in Secrets of the Turkish Kitchen,  the recipe dates back to the days of culinary experimentation in the Ottoman palace kitchens. Terbiyeli literally means well-behaved but in Turkish cooking it refers to a sauce made with lemon and egg. This dish can be either just that: a dish, or as I prefer to make it since that is how I was introduced to it, a delicious seasonal soup with little meatballs. Since the markets are now full of the winter vegetables that we will be seeing for the next few months, this recipe sprang to mind when I went to my usual Selami Çeşme market yesterday.

Ingredients for Terbiyeli Köfte

Serves 4 – 6

For the meatballs:

450g minced lamb or beef

1 tbsp rice, rinsed and drained

1 small onion, grated

1 handful of finely chopped parsley

1 handful finely chopped dill

1 tsp salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsps plain white flour

For the stock:

2 potatoes, peeled and diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 small celeriac, peeled and diced

2 tsp salt

4 cups/1 litre boiling water

For the terbiye/tangy sauce:

2 egg yolks

Pinch of salt

Juice of 1 lemon

Chopped parsley or dill to garnish

Method

§  Place the prepared vegetables in water with a squeeze of lemon to prevent discolouration.

all the ingredients for the köfte/meatballs

§  Combine the minced meat, rice, grated onion (keeping any residual onion juice to add to the stock), parsley, dill, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Using your hands, mix together well. With wet hands, roll into balls the size of walnuts and then roll in flour.

§  In a large pan heat the water with the salt. When it is boiling, drain the vegetables and add to the pan.

 Once the vegetables are simmering, add the meatballs. Continue to simmer for 15 minutes until the rice grains are protruding from the meatballs and the vegetables tender. Remove from the heat.



simmering the soup before adding the terbiye/sauce

 

§  Put the egg yolks in a bowl. Add the pinch of salt and whisk with a fork. Add the lemon juice and continue whisking, adding spoonfuls of the hot stock a little at a time. Return this mixture to the pan and on a gentle heat continue stirring until the sauce thickens. Take care not to let it reach a rapid boil as it may curdle.

§  Serve at once garnished with the fresh parsley and dill. If serving as a meal, a rice pilaf would be a good accompaniment. 



afiyet olsun!



Tips

1.       This is the first time that I have actually followed a recipe (it comes from Secrets of the Turkish Kitchen) for this soup as opposed to just following my own inclinations, and the measurements are perfect. However, next time I will add a little more rice as it makes the meatballs look like little hedgehogs. I like that and I remember so did my children!

2.       I also let the mixture cool a bit before I made the sauce. It just reduces the risk of it curdling.

A nice easy, extremely seasonal soup for either lunch or dinner. There is no direct translation for afiyet olsun but basically it means Enjoy! It is said before every meal by the cook to those about to eat!