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I was so very intrigued by the Yogurt Soup over at Choosy Beggars. However, Tina's yogurt soup was served with shish barak, tiny, tiny, tiny meat dumplings. They looked very labor-intensive, and I cannot have that!
So, I decided to make the yogurt soup but add chickpeas instead. We also happened to have a bunch of Swiss chard lying around, so I thought I'd add that too.
Well, imagine my happiness when it turns out that there is actually such a Lebanese dish! Here's my Shourabit Silq bi Laban (Lebanese Chard and Yogurt Soup).
Well, I wanted to say "Yogurt Soup with Chard and Chickpeas", but I had the hardest time trying to find out how. Are chickpeas simply called "hummus"?
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Anyway, just shourabit silq bi laban it is!
Swiss Chard
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I decided to cook the swiss chard separately, wilting them in a pan and seasoning them with salt.
Za'atar Pan-roasted Chickpeas
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Instead of simply plopping the chickpeas into the soup, I decided to "pan-roast" (or sauté) them first.
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There's our little jar of za'atar. (Hey, that rhymes!)
In this case, this was a blend of dried thyme and sesame seeds, and... I couldn't tell nor can I remember what else is in there. =)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Za'atar
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I placed a smashed garlic clove into a pan and started heating it up with some olive oil. I removed the garlic when it started to brown. When the pan was smoking hot, I added the drained and dried canned chickpeas.
I sprinkled in some za'atar and salt, and cooked the chickpeas until toasted.
Making the Soup
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Making the soup was as simple as following Tina's recipe.
I cooked chopped onions and garlic in olive oil until soft, then added some rice. After a couple of minutes, I sprinkled in some red chili flakes. I added water and cooked the mixture over low heat until the rice was cooked. The yogurt went in last, and I seasoned with salt and pepper.
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For the purposes of the blog, I ladled the yogurt soup into bowls and added the cooked chard and za'atar chickpeas on top. I even garnished with dried mint.
After all the photo-taking was done, I dumped everything into the soup.
But, a warning to you all. When using Swiss chard, make sure they have white stems and not these red (or even yellow) stems. When I looked into the pot the next day, my yogurt soup had turned pink! It was a little disturbing.
Say "No!" to pink stems!
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Anyway, the soup was still delicious. I recommend adding a fried egg to your bowl. The rich yolk melds quite beautifully with the acidity of the yogurt. With that and the greens and chickpeas, this is quite the little meal.
Recipe
Choosy Beggars: Shish Barak - Yogurt Soup with Meat and Parsley Stuffed Dumplings
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