Creamy chicken orzo soup

Creamy chicken orzo soup (tavuk çorbası) is a staple of lokantas (cafeteria-style restaurants) and a firm favorite among Turkish home cooks. Tavuk çorbası has a silky consistency, is super savory and must be one of the most comforting soups of all time! A creamy soup with tender pasta and juicy chicken is just what you need for a perfect cozy night in.

this recipe

A TAKEAWAY FAVORITE

When my husband and I were living in Turkey, whenever he wanted to order in pide or lahmacun late at night, I would always order this creamy chicken orzo soup. Partly because it’s one of my favorite Turkish soups, partly because it’s probably one of the easiest soups to digest before bed. Tripe soup is delicious (and supposedly a great hangover cure), but it’s definitely on the heavy side. I also always thought that pide and lahmacun, like pizza, are much better eaten hot straight from a wood-fired oven. They always turn out soggy and greasy after being enclosed, still steaming, in a box. And being tossed around while being driven around town for 15 min, definitely doesn’t increase their appeal to me. But a creamy, tart, comforting tavuk çorbası served with wedges of lemon and slices of fluffy white bread, now this was always a resounding success!

What’s süzme yogurt?

If you go to a Turkish shop, you’ll most commonly spot 2 main types of yogurt in the refrigerated section: Kaymaksız yoğurt and Süzme yoğurt. Kaymaksız yoğurt is the most widely used yogurt, it is similar to natural yogurt but thicker. It is the main ingredient to make ayran (refreshing drink), it’s spooned next to pilafs, turned into sauces, etc… Kaymaklı yoğurt is the same yogurt as kaymaksız yoğurt but it has a thin skin over the top of the yogurt. The other type of yogurt is süzme yogurt, which is kaymaksız yoğurt that has been strained. Thus it’s even thicker and slightly fattier. It’s mostly used to make mezzes. I prefer making yogurt-based soups with süzme yogurt because it’s richer.

However, if you can’t get your hands on either style of Turkish yogurt you can make this recipe with whole-milk Greek yogurt (preferably 10% fat). Greek yogurt is tangier and creamier but it definitely works out with this recipe. I make this soup with full-fat Greek yogurt whenever I’m too lazy to go to a Turkish shop, since Greek yogurt is available in supermarkets in France. I can attest that the creamy chicken orzo soup always turns out just as good made with Greek yogurt. It might seem weird to use yogurt to make a hot soup, especially if you never cooked with yogurt before, but there’s nothing like a Turkish/Greek/Armenian yogurt-based cook! One spoonful is all it will take to make you fall in love with this luscious creamy, slightly tart, soup.

KEEP IT OVER MEDIUM HEAT

The only thing to keep in mind while making a Turkish creamy orzo chicken soup is to be mindful of the heat, especially after pouring the yogurt mixture into the pan. If the temperature is too high the egg yolk might scramble, instead of simply binding the soup together, the yogurt might curdle and the soup might become a bit too thick. A yogurt-based soup should definitely never come to a boil. So be patient and don’t try to rush things up! It looks intimidating, but honestly, as long as you keep the soup over medium heat once the yogurt has been added to the stock and you stir it from time to time, everything will be A-OK.

SUITABLE SUBSTITUTES

Chicken thighs also work well for this recipe as the skin and bones bring extra flavor to the stock. You can poach them the same way as the chicken breasts and discard the bones and skin before dicing the meat. Thighs are fattier than breasts so the meat will be more tender. However, you can make this soup faster with chicken breasts and when poached properly they can be pretty juicy too!

If you don’t have orzo on hand, you can use a different type of small pasta. As long as they are teeny tiny (like pastina, stelline, fideo spaghetti, alphabet) and you keep an eye on them when browning, your tavuk çorbası will turn out great!

I do love the kick you get from sprinkling pul biber over the soup but using chopped fresh herbs, ground black pepper or dried mint is just as common. It’s customary to squeeze lemon juice over Turkish soups and this soup is no exception. Lemon juice cuts through the richness of a creamy orzo chicken soup beautifully and I wholly encourage you to try it!

The thickness of the soup can depend on personal tastes. I usually don’t want my tavuk çorbası to be too watery, I prefer a bit of substance but to the point where I feel like I’m eating a bowl of white sauce. If you want a thinner soup, incorporate just-boiled water at the end (2 tbsp at a time so you can gauge the consistency). If you want a thicker soup you can either add a couple more tablespoons of flour to the yogurt mixture or use 1 cup of pasta (instead of ¾).

If you have leftover yogurt, here are some of my favorite recipes to use it up:

• Beyti kebab (Beyti kebap)
• Carrots with yogurt (Havuç tarator)
• Creamy pasta salad (Makarna salatası)

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