Arabaşı

Ingredients

• 800 g bone-in chicken thighs and legs
• 1 onion
• 1.5 litres cold water
• 200 g plain flour, for the paste
• 700 ml cold water, for the paste
• 1 tsp salt, for the paste
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 2 tbsp Turkish red pepper paste
• 1 tsp Aleppo pepper flakes (pul biber)
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil, for the tray

Before you cook

• Joint the chicken into pieces if it is not already portioned.
• Peel and finely chop the onion.
• Whisk the 200 g of flour into the 700 ml of cold water with the teaspoon of salt, until there are no lumps at all.
• Oil a shallow tray about twenty centimetres square.

Steps

1. Put the chicken in a pot with the onion, the 1.5 litres of cold water and a teaspoon of salt.
2. Bring it to the boil, skim the surface, then simmer gently for fifty minutes, until the meat falls from the bone.
3. Lift the chicken out, strip the meat off in shreds, and strain the broth into a jug.
4. Pour the flour and water mixture into a heavy pan and set it over a medium heat.
5. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon for twelve to fifteen minutes, until the paste thickens, turns glossy and pulls cleanly away from the sides of the pan.
6. Scrape the paste into the oiled tray and smooth it to a depth of about two centimetres.
7. Leave the tray somewhere cool for thirty minutes, until the paste is fully set and firm to the touch.
8. Melt the butter in the empty pot over a medium heat.
9. Stir in the 2 tablespoons of flour and cook it for two minutes, until it smells biscuity.
10. Add the red pepper paste and Aleppo pepper flakes and stir for one minute.
11. Pour the strained broth in slowly, whisking, and bring it back to a simmer.
12. Return the shredded chicken to the pot and simmer for ten minutes.
13. Sharpen the soup with the vinegar and season it with the remaining salt and the black pepper.
14. Cut the set paste into three-centimetre squares with an oiled knife.
15. Serve the hot soup in bowls with the squares on a separate plate, so each person can lift a square on a spoon, dip it, and swallow it whole.