Bosnian · soup

Begova Čorba (The Bey's Soup)

Begova Čorba (The Bey's Soup) reads richness 5.4, salinity 3.6 and sweetness 3.3 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Bosnian soup, about 2 hr 1 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 4.1 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 3.6 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 3.4 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 1.9 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 5.4 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 3.5 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Richness 5.4 · Salinity 3.6 · Sweetness 3.3 · Sourness 3.2 · Allium 3.2 · Funk & Ferment 2.7 · Herbaceous 2.4 · Umami 2.3 · Earthy 1.8 · Bitterness 1.1 · Fruity 1.0 · Floral 0.8 · Citrus 0.5

What's in it (13)

• chicken — 1600 g
• cold water — 2500 g
• okra — 300 g
• carrots — 200 g
• parsley root — 80 g
• celeriac — 100 g
• onion — 150 g
• unsalted butter — 60 g
• all-purpose flour — 40 g
• sour cream — 200 g
• egg yolk — 200 g
• salt — 12 g
• flat-leaf parsley — 15 g

Time & effort: about 2 hr 1 min · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 68.3 kcal, 6 g protein, 5.1 g fat, 1.7 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains dairy · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (12 steps)

1. Put the chicken in a pot with the cold water and the whole onion, bring it slowly to a bare tremble and poach 60 minutes. Never let it gallop; a boiled stock goes cloudy and the whole point of this soup is a clear, pale, quiet broth.
2. Skim the grey foam off for the first 5 minutes and then leave it alone.
3. Lift the chicken out and strain the broth through a fine sieve, discarding the onion. You should have about 2 litres.
4. Pull the meat off the bones and shred it into short pieces, discarding skin and bones. This takes about 10 minutes.
5. Melt the butter in a clean pot and sweat the carrot, parsley root and celeriac over medium heat for 8 minutes, until soft but not coloured.
6. Stir in the flour and cook 3 minutes over low heat without letting it take any colour at all. A bijela zaprška, a white roux, is what this soup uses; brown it and you have made a different, coarser soup.
7. Whisk the strained broth in a ladleful at a time until smooth.
8. Add the okra, the shredded chicken and the salt and simmer 20 minutes. Dried okra is traditional and gives more body than fresh; both thicken the soup slightly, which is part of its character.
9. Whisk the sour cream and egg yolks together in a bowl, then whisk in two ladlefuls of the hot soup to temper them.
10. Take the pot off the heat and stir the tempered cream back in. It must not boil after this or it will curdle.
11. Scatter the parsley over. The soup is named for being rich enough for a bey, and its restraint is deliberate: there is no paprika, no chilli and no garlic in it.
12. Substitutions: 1.2 kg bone-in chicken thighs can stand in for the free-range chicken.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Bergensk Fiskesuppe (Bergen Fish Soup) — Norwegian
• Southern Squash Casserole with White Beans — Southern
• Ciorbă de Perișoare (Sour Meatball Soup with Borș and Lovage) — Romanian
• Garlic Butter Portobello Steaks with Mashed Potatoes — American
• One-Pot Chicken and Dumplings — American

Keep reading: what richness, salinity, sweetness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.