Chorba Bayda

Serves 4–6

2 egg yolks, from large eggs

60ml lemon juice

2 tbsp rendered chicken fat or vegetable oil

15g butter

1 onion, cut into 5mm cubes

1 large carrot, cut into 5mm cubes 1 celery stalk, cut into 5mm cubes 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1.35kg chicken, quartered

1.45 ltr water or chicken stock 1 tbsp salt

40g basmati rice

450g cooked chickpeas, drained 1 small bunch coriander or parsley, roughly chopped, to garnish

1 Whisk the yolks and lemon juice in a bowl, beating until blended.

2 In a large pot, melt the chicken fat and butter over a medium–high heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and fry for about 4 mins until they are tender, then add the cinnamon and pepper.

3 Add the chicken pieces, water and salt. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Remove the chicken breasts when they are cooked after about 7–10 mins, add the rice and stir to combine.

4 Remove the leg/thigh pieces when the meat separates from the bone, at about 15 mins. Shred all the meat, discard the skin and bones, and return to the pot, with the chickpeas.

5 Ladle a few spoonfuls of the hot broth into the yolk mix to warm it through – too much will curdle the eggs, so do this slowly.

6 When the egg mixture is warm, turn off the heat. Drizzle into the broth, stirring constantly. It should thicken and become silky, turning from brown to white. Season and serve with coriander or parsley.

Cook’s note: Broken vermicelli can be used instead of rice. Add it during the last 2–3 mins of cooking.

Taken from The Chicken Soup Manifesto by Jenn Louis (Hardie Grant) Photography: Ed Anderson