Liver Soup (Ciğer çorbası)
Overview
Ciğer çorbası is an old Turkish soup of finely diced lamb liver in a smooth, velvety broth. The liver is soaked, cut into very small cubes and sautéed in butter with onion, then flour is stirred in and meat stock is added slowly to make a light, creamy base. Just before serving, the soup is finished with terbiye, a mixture of egg yolk and lemon juice or vinegar tempered with hot broth, which thickens it and gives a gentle sourness. It is seasoned with black pepper and sometimes a pinch of cinnamon or chopped parsley, and served hot with bread and lemon.
History
Liver soup belongs to the old Ottoman kitchen, where offal soups such as işkembe, tripe soup, were sold in special shops in Istanbul. The Turkish Ministry of Education's module on Turkish soups describes ciğer çorbası as a soup that has almost been forgotten. It also notes that terbiye, the egg yolk and vinegar or lemon sauce used in this soup, came from Byzantium and is now used in many Turkish soups.
Main ingredients
Lamb liver, onion, butter, flour, egg yolk, lemon. The soup is built on meat stock and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; not usually gluten-free.
Explore: Lamb soups · Egg soups · More soups from Türkiye
Recipe
Method
- 14 min
Fry the onion in the butter until soft, add the liver and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
- 21 min
Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
- 315 min
Add the stock slowly, stirring, and simmer for 15 minutes.
- 4
Beat the egg yolk with the lemon juice and a ladle of hot soup, then stir it into the pot off the boil.
- 5
Season with pepper and serve with parsley.
- ✓
Serve. About 1 h from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
