Kisela čorba

The story

Serbian cooks draw a firm line between supa, a clear broth, and čorba, a heartier soup thickened with a roux or with eggs. Soup opens almost every Serbian lunch, and it is widely considered important for good health. Kisela čorba, sour soup, is one such čorba: chicken simmered with carrots, parsnip or parsley root and celery root, thickened with a light roux of onion and flour, then finished with egg yolks beaten into sour cream and sharpened with lemon juice or vinegar. The same white chicken čorba appears on Serbian and Croatian recipe sites with small changes. Coolinarika calls it a classic without which there is no festive lunch, and Recepti.com purees the broth and tempers the yolk and sour cream with a few ladles of hot broth so it does not curdle. Its ingredients are the roots and stored vegetables of the cold months. SBS Food in Australia lists it among the dishes of a Serbian family's slava, the household's patron-saint feast, served with pieces of the slava bread. For a weeknight, use bone-in thighs for flavor and make the broth a day ahead, then add the yolks, sour cream and lemon only when reheating.