If you have ever visited Turkey, then you probably tasted or at least heard about Tarhana soup. Turkish moms are famous for making this soup for the ill members of the family, or simply to warm up everyone on cold nights.

Traditionally, Turkish women made this soup’s dough with summer tomatoes, onions and peppers, dried it up and then crushed into powder . The powder was stored in a cool place and was used all winter long to feed the family. It takes time to make this soup. It requires time, it requires patience. And mostly effort.

It’s an incredibly tasty soup, similar to tomato soup but with a slight tanginess. This tanginess is caused by the fermenting process of course. I remember my mother making it for me on these cold nights of my childhood,  with butter and ground beef. Never too spicy or hot.

Now I am making for my darling daughter, her mouth is completely covered with soup, while she smiles and asks for an another plate. Always wondering aloud why it has a sour taste.

I say I am making but this recipe belongs to my mother in law. I normally do not use buckwheat in my recipes but I am making an exception for this healthy and delicious soup.

I have never realized how good this could taste with buckwheat, I think it’s even better than regular tarhana. And on top of it all, it’s gluten-free. But I have to warn you, as it has no gluten inside it does not rise like regular tarhana during fermenting.

Once your tarhana is ready in its powdered form, turning it into a soup only requires cold water. Mix two handfuls of tarhana with 1lt water. Warm it up in a pan, add a tablespoon of butter and some sauteed ground beef if your prefer and its ready to warm you up as well!

Grain and Gluten free Traditional Turkish Tarhana Soup
Ingredients:
1/2 kg organic tomatoes
1/2 kg organic onion
1/2 kg organic sweet red kapia pepper
2 eggs
2 tspns rock salt (optional)
1/2 kg strained regular yogurt
Spices of preference (oregano, thyme, mint, rosemary, pepper – optional)
Around 650-700 gr buckwheat flour
42 gr active fresh yeast (you can also use 1 small package (11 gr) of instant dry as well )
Instructions:
1-Wash and slice tomatoes, peppers and onions. Boil and cook them well and if necessary add some water.

2-Puree all in your food processor.

3-Add eggs, salt, yogurt and buckwheat flour and knead into a dough similar to cookie dough. Cover and wait for seven days.

4-After seven days, tear egg sized pieces from the dough, dust your surface with some buckwheat flour and with the help of your rolling pin, roll the pieces into small circles. Place all small circles on a clean sheet and let them dry in a sunny place for a few days. Make sure you flip them time to time.

5-After they dry up, put in your grinder or food processor and make sure they get as flour-like as possible. Make sure you also filter them through a sieve to get rid of all the big crumbs in order to obtain a smoother tarhana.