Şehriye Çorbası, Turkish Tomato and Toasted Noodle Soup
Şehriye çorbası is the soup a Turkish cook makes when the cupboard is nearly bare: toasted noodles, tomato, an onion, and water. The one technique that matters is toasting the dry vermicelli in the pot until it turns deep brown before any liquid goes in. That toasting keeps the noodles separate and gives the soup its nutty backbone, the same move that saves them from turning to paste. Whole-grain vermicelli takes a little longer to toast and holds its bite better for it. Bloom the dried mint and Aleppo pepper in your palm at the end so their oils wake up, then finish with lemon. No bouillon cube, which is mostly salt; a spoon of no-salt vegetable base and a well-toasted tomato paste do that work instead.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Whole wheat short pasta, vermicelli or small shapes, broken
- 1 whole Yellow onions, finely diced
- 1 whole Carrots, grated
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp Tomato paste, no-salt-added
- 1 cup Canned crushed tomatoes, no-salt-added
- 1 tsp no-salt vegetable bouillon
- 1 tbsp Dried mint
- 1 tsp Aleppo pepper, salt-free
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- 2 tbsp Flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Method
- Toast the dry broken vermicelli in the empty pot over medium heat, stirring, until it turns deep brown, about 4 minutes. This toasting is the whole dish: it keeps the noodles separate and gives the soup its nutty backbone, and skipping it leaves them pale and pasty. Tip the noodles out and set aside.
- In the same pot, sweat the onion, grated carrot, and garlic in 3 tbsp water until soft, about 6 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook a minute until it darkens to brick red. Toasting the paste in the dry-ish pan concentrates its sweetness and is where most of the depth comes from without a stock.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, 4 cups water, and the no-salt bouillon, and bring to a boil. A spoon of no-salt base does the job of a bouillon cube, which is mostly salt.
- Return the toasted noodles and simmer until tender, about 6 minutes. Toasted first, they hold their bite instead of dissolving.
- Rub the dried mint and Aleppo pepper together in your palm and stir them in, then finish with lemon and parsley off the heat. Dried mint and Aleppo wake up in the hot broth, and the lemon lifts the whole pot in place of salt.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 130 calories, 4 g protein, 4 g fiber, 40 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
