Often
while dining out, I get inspired to make my own version of a particular dish.
Or I dissect said dish and figure out the ingredients and spices so I can
replicate the food at home.
Recently,
I enjoyed a light lunch with a friend at Kantin
in Nişantaşı.
This cute cafe is always bumping at lunchtime and serves an ever-changing menu
focused on seasonal ingredients. For our first course, we both ordered the
daily soup which was balkabağı çorbası (pumpkin soup).
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Kantin's Turkish pumpkin soup was garnished with a dollop of yogurt, fresh oregano and ground black pepper. |
For
the last two months or so in Istanbul, I've
often walked by small wooden stands set up in the streets or on sidewalks where
a Turkish guy is cutting up fresh balkabağı (literally translates to "honey
squash".) Usually, he must use a long, hand saw to cut through the tough,
greenish-blue exterior.
Just off Valikonağı Caddesi
in Nişantaşı,
the pumpkin guy sets up his stall near the artichoke-peeling guy while across
the street a second pumpkin guy holds his corner by the fresh juice guy. (I
never understand the Turkish concept of setting up like-minded stalls literally
right next to each other.)
Anyway,
I bought a kilo of balkabağı at the Saturday pazar in Beşiktaş.
I love the fact that the guys will cut AND
peel the pumpkin for you! At home, I made a delicious, spicy, cumin-scented pumpkin
soup, which only lasted 2 days, followed by a curry-based cauliflower soup.
'Tis the season for soup!
With the snow blowing outside
here in Istanbul, it's a perfect time to make this wintery balkabağı çorbası. And, trust
me, the fried garlic chips are worth the extra effort!
Balkabağı
Çorbası/Turkish
Pumpkin Soup with Cumin Yogurt
Ingredients:
2 T. vegetable or olive oil
1 med. onion,
diced small
4-6 cloves garlic,
roughly chopped
1 T. cumin
1 kilo (2.2 lbs.) balkabağı (pumpkin),
cut into 1-inch cubes
2 med. yellow
potatoes, cut into small cubes
1 L. (33.
8 oz.) chicken stock or water
To
taste pul biber (red chili flakes), salt and
freshly ground black pepper
120
ml. (1/2
c.) low-fat milk (Substitute
whole milk or heavy cream for a richer taste.)
For
garnish: Cumin yogurt - To
make, stir in a good pinch of cumin powder and salt to (low-fat) yogurt and
season to taste.
Fried garlic chips
(Note: mine only took about 30 seconds to fry. Strain immediately and place on
paper towel to absorb extra grease.)
1. In a large stockpot, heat oil over
medium-high heat. Add onion and saute about five minutes, until softened.
2. Add the garlic and cumin powder. Cook
for just a few minutes. Then add the pumpkin and potato chunks, stirring with a
large spoon and cook for a few more minutes.
3. Then, add the stock or water. Add a
dash of pul biber, salt and black
pepper. Cover the pot with a lid and let simmer for about 20-30 minutes, until
the pumpkin is soft.
4. When finished cooking, add the milk.
Using a hand immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. Taste and adjust
the seasonings as necessary.
5. To serve, ladle the hot soup into
warmed bowls. Garnish with a dollop of the cumin yogurt and a sprinkling of the
fried garlic chips. (Watch your husband eat said soup in amazement!)
9 comments:
I love pumpkin soup, Joy your balkabağı çorbası recipe looks fantastic especially the yogurt with the fried garlic chips on the top.
I enjoy reading your trips to the Greek island, I am planing to go during spring. All the best.
@Lola, thanks for stopping by! I've really enjoyed catching up on your site...you have a some great things on your blog too! Def. will look forward to reading about your Greek island trips. Cheers!
I too, could never understand why shops selling the same wares are always together but then someone told me apparently it dates back to the Ottoman empire. It was an attempt to keep prices down or something along those lines.
This looks absolutely delicious!
@Natalie, I think I've heard something like that too, but it still doesn't make sense to me. =) Friendly competition...
@Terry, what's cooking in Ankara?
I have tried pumpkin muffin, pumpkin roll up cake before and I would definitely love to try pumpkin maple cheesecake but never think about the soup, I should give it a try...
@Turkish Cuisine, it's hard for me not to think about making soup during this cold weather. If you do, let me know what you think. Afiyet olsun!
Delicious, Joy! I loved your addition of cumin to the yoghurt and the garlic chips, yummy and so seasonal!:) Eline saglik!
Looks like I missed this post, then, so thanks for putting it on the community. :) This is one of my favourite soups and we always make it at this time of year - love the idea of the yoghurt topping.
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