düğün çorbası — Turkey

Düğün çorbası is a lamb or beef broth soup built up in stages: meat simmered until tender gives the base, which is then thickened with a roux and rounded out with an egg-and-lemon mixture stirred in off the heat, a combination that leaves the soup pale, creamy and gently tangy. It is reported across Turkey as everyday cold-season fare today, though it is said to have opened wedding feasts in villages, where celebrations could stretch on for days; the soup that once marked the start of such gatherings is now made and eaten on its own at any time of year. Meat is cut into small pieces and simmered with a whole onion and grated carrot until tender, then the meat is shredded or pounded and the broth strained. Flour is browned in butter to make a roux, whisked into the broth and simmered until the soup thickens, and finally a mixture of egg yolks beaten with lemon juice is stirred in off the heat so it doesn't curdle. The soup is finished with a spoonful of butter colored deep red with paprika, poured over just before serving. Depending on where it's made, leeks, celery or boiled beans sometimes join the pot, but the paprika butter poured over the top at the end and the tangy egg-lemon thickening are what mark this soup out from other Turkish meat broths, giving it a distinctive pale, glossy surface streaked with red.