Turkish Lebeniye Soup
Description
If you’re looking for bowl of comfort and nourishment lebeniye soup fits the bill, what takes the soup up a notch is the butter dried mint pesto you blitz on top of the soup.
Equipment
- Food Processor to grind the meat and onion together
Ingredients
- 250 grams/ 9 oz minced beef:
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- A pinch of freshly grated black pepper
- 2 liters+ 2 cups water equal to 10 cups of water
- 1/3 cup short grain rice, I used Arborio
- 2 cups plain yogurt, full fat yogurt is best
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, to saute the meat balls
- 3/4 cup cooked chickpeas, I used canned chickpeas
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, to be added to the yogurt and some extra to dust the meat balls with before cooking
- 1 egg
- Finish drizzle:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon dried mint
Instructions
- To make the meatballs: Season the minced meat with salt and freshly grated black pepper. Transfer to a food processor, add the small chopped onion and pulse a few times to infuse the onion in meat. Roll the meat mixture into mini balls, the size of a cherry tomato or even smaller if you can manage. Place them on a tray sprinkled with flour and add a generous sprinkle of flour on top of the meatballs.
- Cook the soup: In a large pot combine the rice, cooked chickpeas and water and bring to a boil, reduce heat to low cover up and cook for about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile pan-fry the meatballs: In a large skillet heat olive oil until shimmering, add the meatballs and fry until brown on both sides and lightly cooked (about 2 to 3 minutes). Cook over medium heat. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Temper the yogurt: In a glass bowl, combine together the yogurt, egg and flour, add 1 ladle of the warm rice and chickpea water to the yogurt mixture, whisk well then add another ladle and whisk one more time, add the tempered yogurt to the rice soup stir well everything together, this technique will gurantee your soup will not curdle.
- Gently, add the meatballs to the soup and give a quick stir. Adjust salt to your taste prefence. The soup should be moderately thin, if it thickens a lot add boiled water to your liking.
- Finish with a flavor booster: In a skillet melt butter over medium heat and add the dried mint and sautee for a few seconds, make sure not to burn it; swirl the mixture on top of the lebenyie, stir just a bit to keep it floating on top, it's eye-catching, presentable and will take the lebenyie from good to glorious.
- Ladle the soup and enjoy, happy eating. Watch the detailed video tutorial below!
Video
Notes
Looking for more cooked yogurt dishes, we got you covered:
- Shish barak: Middle Eastern-style tortellini dumplings, filled with onion, and minced meat and cooked in a tangy palatable yogurt sauce (laban).
- Kibbeh Bil Laban: The kibbeh balls are cooked in a refreshing yogurt sauce spiked with fried cilantro and garlic and you’re left with a deeply complex, unexpected crowd pleaser. If ever there is a quintessential Lebanese homey comfort main,
- Kousa bil laban: Stuffed zucchini simmered in a garlicky yogurt sauce, and flavored with a light dusting of dried mint, is a Lebanese classic that never goes out of style – comfort food at its best.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!