Turkish cuisine · Soups & Stews

Turkish Wedding Soup

Anatolian wedding soup made with lamb broth, thickened with an egg-lemon liaison and finished with a drizzle of red paprika butter.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 600 g lamb shoulder (bone-in)
• 1 onion
• 1 carrot
• 1 bay leaf
• 60 g butter
• 3 tbsp flour
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 lemon
• 1 tsp paprika
• Salt, pepper

Instructions

1. Put the lamb shoulder in 2 l cold water with the halved onion, carrot and bay leaf, bring to a boil, skim off the grey foam, and simmer gently for 60 minutes until the meat falls tender off the bone.
2. Remove the meat, discard the bones and sinew, and dice it small; strain the broth through a fine sieve and keep it hot — you should have about 1.5 l left.
3. Melt 40 g of the butter in a large pot, stir in the flour and sweat it gently for 2–3 minutes until it smells like pastry but hasn't taken on any color.
4. Gradually whisk in the hot broth while stirring constantly, season with salt and pepper, and let the soup simmer gently for 10 minutes until lightly thickened.
5. Whisk the egg yolks with the lemon juice, slowly stir in two ladles of hot soup, then fold the liaison into the soup off the heat — from now on the soup must not boil again or it will curdle.
6. Add the diced meat, briefly foam the remaining butter with the paprika, and drizzle the red paprika butter over the bowls just before serving.