Hot Yogurt and Barley Soup Recipe on Food52 (2024)

This recipe is adapted from "Jerusalem: A Cookbook" by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.
In "Jerusalem," Yotam Ottolenghi and Sam Tamimi write: "Consider this: there are Greek Orthodox monks in this city; Russian Orthodox priests; Hasidic Jews originating from Poland; non-Orthodox Jews from Tunisia, from Libya, from France, or from Britain; there are Sephardic Jews that have been here for generations; there are Palestinian Muslims from the West Bank..." and so on. And yet, for a city of such complex culture, the cooking is remarkably uncomplicated and unassuming.

For Ottolenghi, who grew up in the Jewish west side of the city, and Tamimi, who was raised in the Muslim east side, and who now have restaurants around London, "Jerusalem" follows their bestselling first book, "Ottolenghi." This is their food of Jerusalem, what they like to cook, the dishes that remained with them after moving away -- coarse chopped salads, stuffed peppers, meatballs with favas, and fenugreek cake. You don't know if you're cooking from the east or west, Muslim or Jewish -- rather, it's the food of the city, and you can love all of Jerusalem.

Don't bother dog-earring pages, or you'll destroy the book. Better to just slowly work your way through it. I began with this warm and mellow yogurt soup. Scallions and herbs are tempered by the yogurt, the ingredient that moderates and unites so much of the cooking of this city.

First you cook the barley and onions and then use its cooking broth to heat and thicken a base of yogurt and eggs. It's a bit unnerving, like cooking custard is, as you daringly cook the mixture and will it not to curdle. But then it all comes together, somewhere between porridge and soup, each spoonful threaded with herbs. —Amanda Hesser

Directions

1. Bring 6 3/4 cups water to a boil with the barley in a large saucepan, adding 1 teaspoon salt, and simmer until the barley is cooked but still al dente, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat. Once cooked, you will need 4 3/4 cups of the cooking liquid for the soup; top up with water if you are left with less due to evaporation.
2. While the barley is cooking, saute the onion and dried mint over medium heat in the butter until soft, seasoning with salt, about 15 minutes. Add this to the cooked barley and adjust seasoning.
3. Whisk together the eggs and yogurt in a large heatproof mixing bowl. Slowly mix in some of the barley and water, one ladle at a time, until the yogurt has warmed. This will temper the yogurt and eggs and stop them from splitting when added to the hot liquid. Add the yogurt to the soup pot and return to medium heat, stirring continuously, until the soup comes to a very light simmer. Remove from the heat, add the chopped herbs and scallions and check the seasoning. Serve hot.

Recipe by: Amanda Hesser