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Bon Appétit

Hot Yogurt and Spinach Soup

4.3

(8)

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Photograph by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Sophie Strangio

To make this rich and creamy soup, a riff on Yayla Çorbasi from the mountain meadows of northern Turkey, cookbook author Yasmin Khan seeks out the best quality whole-milk yogurt. It’s the star of the dish, so it’s gotta be good! This recipe comes from Khan’s book, Ripe Figs: Recipes and Stories from Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus, and it’s guaranteed to soothe. Heating up the yogurt slowly with the hot rice and broth mixture ensures it won’t split.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    4 Servings

Ingredients

Soup

1

quart low-sodium chicken broth

½

cup short- or medium-grain white rice (such as Turkish baldo rice or arborio), rinsed

1

large egg yolk

2¼

cups plain whole-milk yogurt

1

Tbsp. plus 1½ tsp. cornstarch

1

tsp. dried mint

Kosher salt, freshly ground white or black pepper

7

oz. mature spinach, tough stems trimmed, coarsely chopped

Topping and assembly

3

Tbsp. salted butter

1

Tbsp. plus 1½ tsp. dried mint

1½

tsp. Aleppo-style pepper

Preparation

  1. soup

    Step 1

    Bring broth to a simmer in a large saucepan; add rice. Return to a simmer, cover, and cook, adjusting heat as needed to maintain a simmer, until rice is al dente, 12–15 minutes.

    Step 2

    Whisk egg yolk, yogurt, cornstarch, and ¾ cup plus 2 Tbsp. lukewarm water in a medium bowl. Add rice mixture a spoonful at a time, whisking after each addition, until combined. Pour back into saucepan; set over medium-low heat. Add mint and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add spinach; cook just until wilted, about 2 minutes. Season soup with more salt and pepper.

  2. topping and assembly

    Step 3

    Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; stir in mint and Aleppo-style pepper. Remove from heat. Ladle soup among bowls and drizzle with spiced butter.

Yasmin Khan's Ripe Figs cookbook
Adapted from "Ripe Figs: Recipes and Stories from Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus." Copyright © 2021 by Yasmin Khan. With permission of the publisher, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Reviews (8)

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  • I have not made this recipe. I'm sure it's fabulous. I just want to point out to the people at BA who are doing your categories that this recipe is far from keto, which is one of the tags that you have given it. The rice and even the cornstarch put it out of reach for anyone following a keto diet.

    • Jennifer

    • 11/14/2021

  • I saw this recipe in the magazine and was so intrigued, I had to try it! I didn’t have Aleppo style pepper so I had to substitute with regular pepper, and some sprinkles of cayenne and chili powder for color and spice. I really like the way it turned out! It’s very warming and soothing, but also doesn’t feel supper heavy either. It came together really quickly as well, so I would definitely make this again.

    • Victoria

    • USA

    • 8/15/2021