Tarhana soup is probably the first instant soup ever in human history. I think this is a proof that Tarhana Soup is a delicious and hearty soup as it is still made after thousands of years.
What is tarhana?
Tarhana mix at first sight looks like orange bread crumbs. It is made up of vegetables such as onions, tomatoes, red peppers and other ingredients such as yogurt, flour and various spices. To prepare the tarhana itself at home was something grandmothers used to do and now younger generations are starting to pick up again. It takes time to ferment and patience.
I have recently made my first very own tarhana, if you are planning to do the same check here: how to make tarhana?
You can also buy tarhana on Amazon, markets and stores. These are almost never the same as the ones my grandmother made for us, as she even adjusted the taste according to our taste, more spicy for the grown-ups and not so spicy for the kids. It is such a pity that the packaged ones can hardly match home-made ones.
Cooking the tarhana soup
Making the tarhana dough requires time and effort, however the soup is very easy to prepare. All you need to know is; how many people will have the soup. Then you will know how many tablespoons of tarhana you will use. The only burden about this soup is that you will have to mix the soup continuously while cooking it. If you stop mixing, you might end up with little balls of tarhana that are not dissolved. If you somehow happen to have these you can get rid of them by using a wire colander if there is someone in the house hold who cannot stand them or even faster use a hand blender to make the soup completely smooth.
The texture of this soup should be somewhat thick, so the water should be about 250 millilitres for every tablespoon. When the soup sits it will get thicker so you might want to add some more water when you re-heat.
Making little changes to the soup
Some people add tomato paste to their Tarhana soup. If the tarhana’s color is pale and it does not have a bright orange tone close to red, then I would suggest adding a tablespoon of tomato paste. However if the color is close to red, it is as a sign that the correct number of and good quality of tomato has been used in the preparation. In this case you do not need to add tomato paste.
Some garnish it with red hot pepper flakes and dry mint flakes. I find it totally optional and personally would not prefer to add anything to this already very tasty soup. I believe some dishes are good as they are, plain as possible.
Dietary information
The tarhana mix is vegetarian, as it has yogurt in it, plus it is best when cooked with butter. I have not tried it vegan yogurt, so cannot comment about how it would turn out.
The tarhana mix is not gluten free as it has flour in it. However it does not have any nuts or pulses in it.
I always had it when I was a kid and my mom used to make it especially when I was not feeling well, to keep me well fed and warm. I still love it.
Serve warm and enjoy.
Tarhana Soup
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons tarhana
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste optional
- 1 litre water room temperature
- 1 pinch salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon dry mint flakes optional
- ½ teaspoon red hot pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Melt the butter together with olive oil in a pot over medium heat.
- Add the tarhana and sauté for a minute.
- Add about half a cup – 150 millilitres- water and mix well until the tarhana starts to dissolve for about 2-3 minutes.
- If you choose to add tomato paste add it now and saute for 2 minutes.
- Add the remaining water. Continue to stir until the water comes to boil.
- When the water is boiling lower the heat, let simmer while mixing for another 5 minutes.
- Taste and add salt to taste.
- Serve warm.
- Garnish with red hot pepper flakes and/or dry mint flakes if you choose to.
Notes
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