Chilled Spicy Tomato Soup (Bostana)

Look at the change: just a month ago my dinner looked like a comforting stew and right now I can’t think of anything but raw. This is how I know the summer has arrived: eating raw would have been a hard sell to the winter me. Ok, the whole meal does not have to be raw, but I want all the crunch, and color, and juice of tomatoes, cucumbers and fresh herbs. Unadulterated. So I have been frequently eating shepherd salad for dinner. Until I recalled a dish my mother-in-law introduced me to a few years ago.

In a nutshell, it’s a cold soup. But then I find Turks have troubles recognizing such dishes as cold soups. Because soup is never cold in Turkey. Think cacık, a cold yogurt soup with grated cucumber. Yes, it is served as a cooling side to a hearty summer meal, a fact that makes it more of a salad. But hello, it is runny like a soup.

Same with bostana, the cold tomato soup I am going to tell you about. I am sure too many people here would put it in a salad bucket. After all It’s suspiciously similar to acılı ezme, famous Turkish hot salsa served along with a good kebab, so understand the intentions of the salad camp to take bostana in hand. The culinary peace corps would call bostana a “salad you can eat with a spoon” (kaşık salata), a lovely compromise in the soup-salad debate. But for me, my friends, bostana a straightforward soup. It is a liquid accompaniment, but can develop into a full-fledged course with ease. Bostana comes from Urfa, however the neighboring areas boast their versions too: for instance, avrat salatası in Antep looks much alike bostana.

Bostan literally means “kitchen garden” in Turkish, and as the name suggests, you combine the seasonal goodness from your garden in one dish: tomato, onion, peppers and plenty of fresh herbs. Tomatoes release their sweet and sour juice that becomes the base of the soup fortified by the pomegranate molasses that Southeast of Turkey prides itself on. And then the heat, we need to add some heat. In Urfa many would use the legendary red peppers that are not unlike your red Romano peppers, only hot, hot, hot. Fresh red chilly or red pepper flakes get you the same direction.

After you combine the ingredients the soup looks dangerous at first. The onion stings, the tomato bites and the pepper burns. Have you notices all the alfa energy in the summer produce? Bold colors and strong tastes scream: hey, here I am and you have no chance to ignore me. These alfa characters competing for the staring role become the best team players after being chilled for 10-15 minutes in the fridge. As they come to their senses, the sharp onion mellows, the bold tomato softens and the loud herbs lower their voice to let the others speak too.

Just like any home cooked dish bostana does not exist in a single rightful way. Some replace onions with green onions, some add cucumber. Some add fresh red pepper while others stick to the dried flakes. My mother-in-law adds a bit of tomato paste and I saw other people doing that. Some sneak in a garlic clove. Some pour royal quantities of pomegranate molasses, some cut it with lemon juice. So the choice is yours.

Oh, and did I mention you need to get absolutely the best tomatoes for this dish, else it does not worth the trouble? If the real tomatoes have not arrived to the markets where you live, wait for them. I did, and the destiny brought me a generous reward last Wednesday: I got hold of the marvelous tomatoes. They look whimsical as only buffalo heart tomatoes could be: they have used all their determination to outgrow themselves (talk of alfa). Not surprisingly, I found them on the stall of my favorite farmer. And he so lovingly inspected these beauties before packing them for me that I thought of my grandma who would always know all the tomatoes in her garden “by name” and remember the exact time each one should be harvested. I mean right on time for a perfect bostana.