Ekşili Terbiyeli Sulu Köfte

Before you start

• Freeze for faster weeknights.

  The meatballs can be kneaded, rolled, dusted in flour, and frozen raw on a baking sheet before being transferred to a freezer bag. Drop them directly from frozen into the boiling vegetable broth, adding only a few extra minutes to the cooking time.

• Skip the tears.

  Instead of grating the onion by hand, pulse it in a mini food processor until finely minced, then press it through a fine-mesh strainer to remove the bitter liquid.

Ingredients

• lean ground beef1 lb
• yellow onion1 small
• short-grain rice3 tbsp
• egg white1 large
• kosher salt1 1/2 tsp
• black pepper1 tsp
• ground cumin1/2 tsp
• Aleppo pepper1/2 tsp
• all-purpose flour1/2 cup
• extra-virgin olive oil2 tbsp
• unsalted butter1 tbsp
• carrots2 med
• potatoes2 med
• hot water6 cup
• whole milk plain yogurt1/2 cup
• egg yolk1 large
• fresh lemon juice1/4 cup
• all-purpose flour1 tbsp
• lemon zest1/2 tsp
• kosher salt1 tsp
• unsalted butter1 tbsp
• dried mint1/2 tsp

Method

1. 01

   Knead the meat aggressively.

   In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, grated onion, rinsed rice, egg white, salt, black pepper, cumin, and Aleppo pepper. Knead the mixture with your hands for 5 to 8 minutes. Do not treat this like a delicate burger; you want the meat to become a sticky, cohesive paste so the meatballs won't disintegrate in the broth.

2. 02

   Roll and dust the meatballs.

   Pinch off small pieces of the meat mixture and roll them between your palms to form balls about the size of a large grape. Drop them onto the flour-dusted baking sheet, and once all the meat is rolled, gently shake the pan back and forth to coat every meatball in a thin, even layer of flour.

3. 03

   Build the stew base.

   In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the diced carrots and potatoes and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes until they just begin to soften and take on a glossy sheen, then pour in the hot water and bring to a rolling boil.

4. 04

   Poach the meatballs.

   Gently drop the flour-coated meatballs into the boiling broth one by one. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover partially, and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and the rice inside the meatballs is fully cooked and swollen.

5. 05

   Execute the crucial tempering.

   While the soup simmers, vigorously whisk together the yogurt, egg yolk, lemon juice, tablespoon of flour, and lemon zest in a medium heat-proof bowl until completely smooth. To prevent the sauce from curdling, take a ladle of the hot soup broth and drizzle it slowly into the yogurt mixture while whisking constantly. Repeat this with two more ladles of hot broth until the yogurt mixture is warm to the touch.

6. 06

   Combine and simmer gently.

   Reduce the heat under the pot to the lowest setting. Slowly pour the warm, tempered yogurt sauce back into the soup, stirring gently in one direction. Let the soup come to a very gentle simmer for 3 to 5 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste, taking care never to let it boil vigorously.

7. 07

   Finish with seasoning and sizzled mint.

   Turn off the heat entirely, then stir in the final teaspoon of salt. In a small pan, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter over medium heat until foaming, stir in the dried mint, and drizzle this fragrant, sizzling butter over the soup just before ladling into deep bowls.

Notes

• Respect the tempering process.

  Adding cold yogurt directly to boiling broth will instantly shock the proteins and curdle the soup. Always temper the sauce with hot broth, and never let the pot reach a hard boil after the yogurt is added.

• Salt at the end.

  Salt exacerbates the curdling of yogurt. Always add the final seasoning only after the soup has been removed from the heat entirely.