Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

turkish chicken and rice soup

Recipe by
Carolyn Haas
Whitewater, WI

My daughter gave me a cookbook for Christmas called "Soup for Syria". This recipe, by Nur Ilkin and Sheila Kaufman is taken from that book. A Turkish quote from the book: "As we say in Turkey, a bowl of hot soup offered goes a long way in the minds and hearts of people." *Note- red pepper paste can be found in Mediterranean or middle eastern supermarkets. This is not the Korean variety.

yield 4 -6
prep time 15 Min
cook time 1 Hr 10 Min
method Stove Top

Ingredients For turkish chicken and rice soup

  • 1 1/2 lb
    chicken legs
  • 1 md
    onion, halved
  • 1 sm
    carrot, peeled and halved
  • 3 sprig
    flat-leafed parsley, tied together
  • 1
    bay leaf
  • 6
    peppercorns, whole black
  • sea salt, to taste
  • 1/2 c
    medium grained rice
  • 2 Tbsp
    canola oil
  • 1 Tbsp
    butter
  • 1 tsp
    tomato paste
  • 1 tsp
    red pepper paste*
  • 1 Tbsp
    flour
  • 1 tsp
    mint, dried
  • 1/2 c
    chickpeas, canned or cooked
  • lemon wedges for garnish

How To Make turkish chicken and rice soup

  • 1
    In a large pot, bring 5 cups water to boil. Add chicken, onion, carrot, parsley, bay leaf, peppercorns and salt to taste. Reduce heat, cover, simmer until chicken is tender - about 45 minutes.
  • 2
    Remove chicken and let cool. Remove skin and bones and tear into bite-sized pieces. Strain and reserve cooking liquid.
  • 3
    In a medium pot, boil 1 cup water. Add rice, and cook according to package directions. Add 4 cups of reserved chicken stock (add water to measure 4 cups) and the chicken. Cook for an additional 4 minutes.
  • 4
    Meanwhile, heat oil and butter in small fry pan. Stir in tomato and red pepper pastes, flour and mint. Mix well, pour over soup, stirring it in. Add chickpeas and cook until warmed through. Serve with lemon wedges.
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