Ezo the Bride Soup (Ezo Gelin Çorbası-nimbuls)

Zöhre Bozgeyik, aka Ezo the Bride, was a real person who lived in a small village in the south eastern part of Turkey in the city of Gaziantep close to Syrian border in early 20th century. She was called Ezo the Bride because she was very beautiful and at the age of marriage. Although, there are many variations of Ezo the Bride legend/story mostly as a romance in popular folk culture, her story is one of suffering, patriarchal traditions, and homesickness. Ezo had two marriages both of which were berdel, i.e. bride swapping (a marriage arrangement between two or three families in which they swap daughters in order not to pay for the brides). By the time she made her second marriage to a cousin in Syria, the Turkish Republic was founded and had established borders between the two countries. She died young in Syria, homesick. As per her will she was buried in Syria on a hill overlooking Turkey. There are films based on her hard, unfortunate life, the most celebrated one being Ezo Gelin (Ezo the Bride) (1968), based on a story by well-known poet Behçet Kemal Çağlar and featuring one of the most famous and talented actors of the time Fatma Girik as Ezo, which won the the Second Best Film and the Best Actress awards at the Adana Golden Boll Film Festival in 1969.

As for the soup itself, rumor has it that during grim times of poverty Ezo created the soup by using whatever she had left in the house. However, the most important trivia about Ezo Gelin soup is not the bride, but that you cannot find a single Kebapçı (Kebab Restaurant) in Turkey that doesn't serve this soup. Rumor also has it that if you cannot serve this soup you couldn’t get a license for a Kebapçı restaurant in Turkey—just saying! It's the best starter before kebap-you have to have the soup, and whatever you do at home, including my recipe, Ezo Gelin soup is always better at a Kebapçı, even or especially at a sloppy one. Also, it's considered to be a perfect hangover cure, after, of course, the Tripe Soup (İşkembe Çorbası).

traditional ingredients:

1 cup red lentils

1/4 cup bulgur

1/4 cup rice

1 tbsp pepper paste (if not, substitute with tomato paste)

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 onion, very finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic

1/2 tbsp dry mint leaves

1 tsp oregano leaves

1/4 tsp black pepper

pepper flakes, as much as you want

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

salt

~5 cups chicken stock (or water)  

(I sometimes hide from the kids grated carrots in the soup)

-Place bulgur and rice with 2 cups of water in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer once it starts boiling. Check now and then to make sure it doesn’t run out of water. Add hot water if necessary. Turn it of once bulgur and rice is cooked. Drain excessive water.

-Heat butter and olive oil in a pot and sauté onions and garlic until very soft, ~8-10 minutes.

-Mix in tomato and pepper pastes and cook for 4-5 minutes.

-Add 5 cups of chicken stock or water, whichever you’re using. Bring to a boil.

-Add washed and rinsed red lentils, rice and bulgur. Simmer for ~20 minutes stirring now and then.

-Add dried mint, oregano, and salt. Simmer for another 5 minutes.

-The trick is not to put Ezo the Bride soup in a blender. Once everything is cooked and soft, a whisk could work just fine. So after adding the legumes, whisk the soup for a couple of times until smoothened.

-Always serve Ezo the Bride with a slice of lemon. Splash of lemon juice will bring the best out of the soup.

Optional:

Some people like to sizzle the mint with butter instead of adding the spices to the soup. For that, heat olive oil or butter (1 tbsp for 2-3 servings) in a small skillet. When oil starts sizzling (if you're using butter, try not to burn it) add mint and oregano (and 1/2 tsp paprika if you wish) and after approximately 30 seconds remove from the heat. Pour over the soup.

Feeling lazy and own a pressure cooker?:

Put everything in the pressure cooker and cook for 15 minutes.

Collard Greens Soup nimbuls(Karalahana Çorbası)

The apartment that I lived in Ankara was on the first floor of one of those old 4 story buildings with just two apartments on each floor and a back yard that the residents didn't care about. A month after the move I remembered there was a back yard and looked over to check it out. Among the things that you can find in the back yards of apartment buildings in Turkey are gazebos, junk, flower beds, people playing "okey," a tile-based game similar to Rumikub, or people drinking tea and eating sunflower seeds. Therefore, I was quite surprised when I saw collard greens in my building's back yard. And I am not talking about two or three plants here; I am talking about endless rows and rows of collard greens. Collard greens is an indispensable component of the Black Sea cuisine in Turkey, and it is difficult to find them outside that province. So I immediately knew there was a homesick Karadenizli (a person from Black Sea) in the building who apparently had a big craving for collard greens. I was right; our concierge Pakize was from Trabzon and capable of consuming a back yard worth of collard greens with her husband in 2-3 months.

The discovery of garden of collard greens intrigued me to cook with them. The next winter I borrowed a bunch of collard greens time to time from Pakize and made collard greens soup based on her instructions. Later, I had this soup a couple of times at different seafood restaurants, but they were not even close to Pakize's recipe. This soup, a specialty of Black Sea, is just perfect for cold winter nights. It has greens, beans, and corn in it; what else can you ask for?        


1 large bunch collard greens
1/2 cup dry white beans (cannellini or northern beans)
1/2 cup cracked corn (you can find cracked corn at Middle Eastern or organic food stores or feeder stores) OR 1/2 cup coarse grits if you cannot find cracked corn
1/4 cup corn flour
7-9 cups of water
3-4 tbsp butter
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp red hot pepper flakes (in traditional recipes you cannot find spice for this soup, but I think hot peppers, hot pepper flakes, or sauces makes this soup even better)

-A night before, put beans in a pot with 3 cups of water. First bring to a boil, then turn it off. Cover and soak overnight.
-The next day cook the beans until soft. (Or use 1 can of beans)
-Wash collard greens well, discard bad leaves and leaf tops. Chop the stems finely. Cut the leaves first into stripes, then into edible-size squarish pieces.
-Boil 7-8 cups of water in a big pot.
-Add collard greens and cracked corn into the boiling water. Cook until soft: ~20-25 minutes.
-Add beans.
-Add corn flour and keep stirring constantly while adding it to prevent lumping.
-Turn the heat to low-medium and cook for almost half an hour to let the soup thicken stirring every 3-45 minutes.
-Heat butter in a small pan. When it's hot but nit burning, add paprika. Let sizzle for a couple of seconds.
-Serve the soup with a spoon or two of butter and paprika on top.

Corn and Bean Soup nimbuls(Pakla Çorbası)

This Black Sea Region recipe is a recipe from my dad's side of the family. My aunt invites the rest of the family over dinner (in addition to all the special occasions) when she cooks three special dishes. Number one is mantı, number two is dolma, and number three is pakla soup, which by the way draws more attendees than dolmas. This simple soup is so popular among the family members that there had been times when we fought over the second serving. The popularity derives from the limited number of times we get to have this soup in a year, and this scarcity is a direct result of a-hard-to-find ingredient: corn bulgur.

Corn bulgur although widely used especially in the Black Sea Region is rarely found elsewhere in Turkey or here in the States. Corn bulgur is parboiled crushed kernel corn made by a similar process that is used for common wheat bulgur.

When I got the recipe from my aunt years ago I asked her what to do if I cannot find corn bulgur here in the States, she suggested fresh corn kernels--it turned out fıne, but wasn't the same soup. However, back then I didn't know about grits. After moving to South, I was introduced to grits, cheesy grits in particular--I absolutely love it. Through explorations I came across coarse grits, which creates a very similar taste to that of corn bulgur in pakla soup, which literally means bean soup.


1 cup uncooked coarse grits (1/3 or 1/4 of a kernel coarse)
~ 1 cup dry cannellini beans or ~2 cups cooked cannellini beans or 1 can of cannellini beans
1 small onion, grated
2 tbsp tomato paste
3-4 tbsp butter
salt

1 small piece of bone-in lamb shoulder*

-Put  grits and beans if you're not using can beans in a pot filled with water. Bring to a boil, turn it off, cover and soak overnight.

-Next day put grits and beans in a pot with lots of water (~10-12 cups) with bone-in lamb shoulder and salt. Cook on medium for an hour or until both beans and grits are soft.

-In a frying pan, heat butter and saute grated onion until soft.

-Add tomato paste cook for another minute or two.

-Add onions to the soup and cook for another 5 minutes.

*You can skip the bone-in lamb or beef; this soup is also very good without addition of meat.

Red Lentil Soup with Couscous nimbuls(Kuskuslu Mercimek Çorbası)

Is there anyone who does not like red lentil soup? I haven't met that person yet. Here is one more red lentil soup from central Anatolia. The original recipe requires couscous. Turkish couscous is just like pearl couscous and is prepared like pasta as opposed to North African couscous. However, for this recipe, I used regular, north African small couscous.

1/2 cup red lentil
1/3 cup couscous
1 carrot, peeled and petite diced
1 tsp paprika
2 tbsp butter
salt
6 cups of chicken or vegetable stock

optional
black pepper or
crushed pepper flakes or
green chili powder

-Heat the stock in a pot.
-Once it starts boiling add red lentils and carrot. Cook until lentils are cooked--approximately 20 minutes.
-Add couscous and cook for another 10 minutes.
-Turn it off and add salt.
-In a small frying pan heat butter. Add paprika and let it sizzle for 10-15 seconds.
-Serve the soup in bowls and pour the butter+paprika on top of each.

Green Lentil Soup with Rice nimbuls(Pirinçli Yeşil Mercimek Çorbası)

Fall is here and I'm as excited about the turning leaves as I am about making soups again. As most of the Turkish green lentil soups, Green Lentil Soup with Rice is also a Central/Eastern Anatolia specialty. It is very simple, yet really delicious one, particularly with a crusty bread.

1 cup green lentils
1/4 cup rice
1 onion, finely chopped
6 cups of beef or vegetable stock
2 tbsp red pepper or tomato paste
2 tbsp olive oil
salt
black pepper
dill

-Boil 1 cup lentils with 3 cups of water until cooked but firm. Rinse.
-Saute onion in a pot with olive oil until soft.
-Add pepper or tomato paste and stir for another minute. (If you cannot find red pepper paste at Middle Eastern stores, you can spice up your soup by adding 1 tsp of spicy Thai roasted pepper or any Asian pepper paste to tomato paste)
-Add vegetable or beef stock, green lentils, rice, pepper, and salt, and cook on medium to low until rice is cooked.
-Sprinkle dill before you serve.

Garbanzo Beans and Soft Wheat Berries Soup nimbuls(Nohut ve Buğdaylı Çorba)

A hearty delicious soup for the last cold days of winter from Lezzet's February 2007 issue.

1 cup dry garbanzo beans
1/2 cup soft wheat berries
1/2 cup red lentils
1 small celery root/celeria, grated
1 carrot, petite diced
5-6 parsley stems, chopped
2-3 celery root stems, chopped
2 tbsp butter
2 small onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
6 cups vegetable or beef stock
2 tsp oregano leaves
1 cup plain yogurt (non-fat, 1%, 2%, or whole milk)
1 tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper


























-Put garbanzo beans and soft wheat berries in a pot. Cover with water ~3 inches above garbanzo and soft wheat berries. Bring to a boil. Then turn it off, cover and soak overnight. Wash and rinse them well the next day.
-Heat butter in a big pot. Add onions and cook until soft.
-Add in red lentils and tomato paste. Stir for 2-3 minutes. Then, add soaked garbanzo beans and soft wheat berries. Stir for another 2-3 minutes.
-Add grated celery root, diced carrot, chopped parsley and celery root stems, oregano leaves, black pepper, salt, and stock (vegetable or beef).
-Let it boil on medium heat for approximately an hour.
-In a small bowl, mix yogurt and olive oil.
-Slowly stir yogurt into the soup. Mix once and let it boil for a couple of minutes. Then turn it off. The soup is ready.

Lentil Soup with Bulgur nimbuls(Bulgurlu Mercimek Çorbası)

Lentil soups are very common in Turkey. This one is traditionally made with red lentils. However, I like the taste of bulgur more with brown or green lentils. For this one I used French lentils. The peppery taste of French lentils along with dried mint was simply perfect for this winter soup. To try the traditional Turkish recipe, just replace French lentils with red lentils.

3 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup French lentils
1/2 cup bulgur (I used fine bulgur, but coarse is fine, too)
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp flour (I used whole wheat)
6-7 cups of stock
2-3 tbsp dried mint flakes
2 tsp thyme
2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt


























-Saute onion with butter until soft.
-Add flour stir constantly for 1-2 minutes. Add tomato paste, stir another 1-2 minutes.
-Add lentils, bulgur, stock, and salt.
-Cover and simmer until lentils are cooked for approximately 30 minutes.
-At this point, if you want a smooth soup use a blender.
-Add mint, thyme, and pepper flakes.

Dried mint flakes definitely brightens up this soup remarkably. For the power of dried mint flakes, this recipe is my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging which was founded by Kalyn and is hosted this week by Anna's Cool Finds.

Red Lentil and Wheat Berry Soup-nimbuls (Kırmızı Mercimekli ve Buğdaylı Çorba)

1/2 cup wheat berries
1 cup red lentils
6 cups of beef or vegetable stock/broth
a pinch of saffron
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried mint flakes
1 tsp red pepper flakes
salt

-Boil wheat berries with 4 cups of water until soft. Rinse excessive water.
-In a pot boil 6 cups of beef or vegetable stock. Add first saffron threads, boil for a minute and then add wheat berries and red lentils. Cook for 20-25 minutes until lentils are cooked.
-Heat oil in a pan. Add mint and pepper flakes. Let it sizzle for a bit.
-Pour oil mix either into the pot or into every soup bowl on top of soup.

Cold Soft Wheat Berry Soup-nimbuls (Soğuk Buğday Çorbası)

I'm back from Turkey with great memories and recipes. The first recipe is "cold soft wheat berry soup." Although this dish is called soup, it might be served as an appetizer or a side dish. However it's served, it's a great refreshing and healthy dish for hot and humid summer days. During most summer days, my mom keeps cooked soft wheat berries ready in the refrigerator (they are usually good for at least a week). The last week of July was unbearably humid generally in Turkey and especially in my hometown; so hot and humid that our favorite pass time activity was to sit motionless in front air conditioners. During those painful days, cold soft wheat berry soup and ice cold watermelons were the only two things we could have for lunch and both felt sooo good.






















soft wheat berries
yogurt
water
dried-mint flakes or finely chopped fresh mint
oregano leaves
red pepper flakes
olive oil
salt

-Boil wheat berries with a good amount of water until cooked. (You can cook more than you need for the day and keep the rest in the refrigerator for at least a week)
-Take as much as you need in a big bowl and add yogurt on top enough to cover the berries when mixed. (We always add a little more than necessary to cover berries)
-If you like a thick bowl of soup, do not add water, but if you like it thinner add some water. With this soup, everything is up to you; you can add more or less of everything.
-Sprinkle mint, oregano, pepper flakes, and salt on top.
-Add 1 or 2 tbsp of olive oil.
-Mix and serve cold.

This recipe with the dried herbs is for Weekend Herb Blogging. WHB was founded by Kalyn and is hosted by Zorra from Kochtopf.

Roasted Beet Soup-nimbuls (Fırınlanmış Pancar Çorbası)

I had found a recipe for a roasted beet soup at Cafe Fernando. I was mesmerized by the color of the beet soup and also by the fact that I'd never cooked with beets before. So I decided to try; however, the original recipe asked for celery stalks, which I cannot stand, and was introduced as a "sweet" one. So, to avoid celery stalks and sweetness, I modified the recipe a little bit, o.k. maybe a lot.

I updated the recipe after my 2nd trial.

3 beet roots, diced
1 cup beet stalks, chopped
5 cloves of garlic
1 carrot, cut in rounds
1 potato, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup rice
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp white peppercorn
1 tsp crushed pepper/ pepper flakes (if you want it spicy)
1 tsp red chili powder
7 cups of water or vegetable stock
1/2 bunch dill

optional
juice of 1 lemon or lime
crumbled feta

-Wrap beet roots separately and garlic cloves together in aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven at 375 F for an hour. You have to let them cool down to a bearable temperature before you peel and dice the roots.
-Heat oil + butter in a large pot and start cooking onions, peppers, and beet stalks
-Add carrots and potatoes. Stir on medium heat for 4-5 minutes
-Now it's time to add beets, garlic, and white peppercorns. Stir for 2-3 minutes
-Add red chili powder, stir for half a minute and add water, salt, and crushed pepper
-When the water boils add rice. Cook for 40 minutes on low to medium heat and stir every now and then
-The soup will be ready when rice is cooked
-I used the soup master (the hand blender) to smoothen it. If you won't smoothen the soup, you should probably chop everything finely
-Garnish with dill and serve with a slice of lemon or lime. The sourness gives it a nice flavor

Things to keeps in mind if you'll try to make this soup are 1) do not wear white! 2) do not skip on dill; you won't believe how well roasted beet and dill get along 3) be adventurous and sprinkle some crumbled feta on top with dill (it's good with lemon juice, too, but I think I favor feta over lemon).

This recipe with the must-have ingredient dill is for Kalyn's Weekend Herb Blogging which is hosted by Ulrike of Kuchenlatein.

Yogurt Soup-nimbuls (Yayla Çorbası)

Yogurt soup is a popular comfort dish both in Turkey and Central Asia. To me, it shows how we, Turks, are obsessed with yogurt; we even cook it! It's also a very common sick soup; even inhaling the strong smell of mint or tarragon makes you feel better. Although Turks love this soup, I can see why many people, especially those who are not in good terms with yogurt, may not like this. So, the decision is up to you: to try or not to try...

1/4 cup rice
5 cups of water (if you wish you can use half chicken stock, half water)
2 cups of plain yogurt
1 egg
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
2 tsp dried mint or tarragon
1 tsp salt

-Boil rice in 5 cups of water with salt until (very) soft.
-In a bowl, beat the egg and flour well, and then add yogurt and mix. With 1-2 tbsp water lighten up this mixture.
-Put the yogurt mix in a pot and start cooking on very low. It's important that you start with low heat, otherwise yogurt would curdle. Give yogurt some time to get used to heat. Cook on low heat for approximately 15 minutes and keep stirring.
-Slowly pour in rice along with water into the soup. Keep stirring. First let it boil on medium and then turn it down and cook for another 10 minutes.
-Heat butter in a pan. Once it sizzles, add mint flakes and stir for 20-30 seconds (don't let it burn). Then, pour it into soup.

Pumpkin Soup with Red Cabbage and Cumin Seeds-nimbuls (Balkabağı Çorbası)

3 cups of baked and mashed pumpkin
1 onion, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
1/2 cup red cabbage, chopped finely
1 banana pepper, chopped
3 cups of vegetable stock
1/2 cup yogurt
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp pepper flakes
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
salt



















-We cut the pumpkin you see above into two, took the seeds out with a spoon, and placing the two halves on an oven pan baked them until soft. (with one half, Aaron made a pumpkin pie, the other half got into this soup)
-Heat the oil in a big pot and stir in the onion and garlic. After 3-4 minutes, add in red cabbage, banana pepper, mustard seeds, and cumin seeds. Stir for 8-10 minutes.
-Add paprika, stir for a minute and then add pumpkin puree, vegetable stock, yogurt, black pepper, pepper flakes, thyme, and rosemary, and salt. Simmer for half an hour.
-I smoothened the soup with a hand blender, my soup master; however, if you want a chunky soup, you don't need the soup master.

Red Lentil Soup-nimbuls (Kırmızı Mercimek Çorbası)

for the soup:
1 cup red lentils
1 medium size onion
1 carrot
1 tbsp tomato or pepper paste (or you can do half&half)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp crushed pepper or red peppercorns
6 cups of water

for the sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil or butter
1 tbsp sweet or spicy paprika

-With a pressure cooker: Put everything (onion and carrot coarsley chopped) for the soup in the pressure cooker and cook on medium for 15 minutes and then smoothen the soup with a blender
-With a regular pot: Put everything for the soup in a big pot and cook on medium heat until the lentils are soft and mushy, for about 20-25 minutes. Smoothen it with a blender.
-If you don't have a hand blender or if you want to have a chunky soup, chop the onion finely and grate the carrot before you cook them.
-Previous two are, in a way, healthier ways of making this soup. If you want to try the tastier way, sautee the onion with 1 tbsp oil for 3-4 minutes. Add the paste and cook for a couple of minutes, and add the rest of the soup ingredients. From this point on, everything will be the same. Sauteed onion and paste will make quite a difference, though.
-Before serving the soup, heat the oil in a skillet and when it's hot add the paprika. Stir for 5-10 seconds. Pour a couple of scoops of the oil+paprika sauce on the soup bowl.
-Squeeze a little bit of lemon juice on top.

optional: sprinkle parsley on top

Tomato Soup with Rice-nimbuls (Pirinçli Domates Çorbası)

This is my all time favorite summer soup.
3-4 tomatoes, grated (if it's winter you can use 1 can of diced tomato, you should smoothen it in a blender)
1 not spicy green pepper such as Italian or banana OR 1-2 small red sweet peppers, chopped finely
1 small clove of garlic, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil or butter
1/4 cup white rice
1/2 tsp paprika or red chili powder
1/2 tbsp peppercorns (I use peppercorns, because I love them and I think crushed black pepper changes the bright red color of the soup)
3 cups of hot water or stock
salt
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped to garnish
-In a pot heat the oil over medium heat
-Add the garlic and green peppers, and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Don't burn them.
-Stir in paprika and cook for ~20 seconds.
-Stir in grated tomatoes and bring to a boil
-Cook at low for approximately 10 minutes, until it has a darker red color
-Stir in water and bring to a boil
-Add rice, salt, and peppercorns, and keep cooking on medium heat
-The soup will be ready when the rice is cooked
-Add parsley after turning off the heat or in the bowls.
-Serve with crusty fresh bread or toasted bread on the side.