Chicken Soup With Toasted Pasta, Leeks, Yogurt, and Mint

Chicken Soup With Toasted Pasta, Leeks, Yogurt, and Mint
Serves 6
By Ana Sortun

INGREDIENTS:
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ pound angel hair or vermicelli noodles, crushed
8 cups chicken broth
Salt and pepper
3 cups plain yogurt (Chef Sortun prefers Old Chatham Sheepherding Company)  
3 egg yolks
2 Tablespoons flour
1 Tablespoon dried mint
Pinch cayenne pepper or dried Aleppo chiles
4 Tablespoons butter
6 leeks, white part only, trimmed, and sliced into ½- inch thick rounds  
2 cups cooked and shredded chicken
1 Tablespoon sumac  

METHOD:
Heat the oil in a large soup put. Add the pasta and stir to coat with a wooden spoon for about 5 minutes until pasta is toasted and golden brown. Add the broth and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked, then season with salt and pepper.

In a bowl, whisk together the yogurt, egg, flour, dried mint, and cayenne until smooth. Ladle a cup of the hot soup into the yogurt mixture, whisking until combined. Then add the yogurt mixture to the soup pot, whisking for about 5 minutes until the soup starts to simmer.

Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it just begins to brown. Add the leeks, and cook for about 15 minutes until soft, seasoning well with salt and pepper. Stir into the soup. Add the shredded chicken and cook 5 minutes to heat the chicken. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with sumac.

Adapted by StarChefs.com

Yield: 6 Servings

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

  Round Out the Meal:
With a green salad.

Kid Friendly:
Omit the cayenne pepper.

  Wine Pairing:
A Rose.