The Strangest--and Cheapest--Soup Recipe You'll Ever Love

A great old Spanish proverb goes, "Sopa y amor, lo primero lo major" which translates to "Of soup and love, the first is best."  Well, that's not exactly true, now, is it? Many would likely agree, however, with the main point--soup is one awesome concoction! While the popular chicken noodle, beef, and vegetable soups are delicious, it can be fun to try something a little out of the ordinary.

One unusual, yet extremely tasty, ingredients for soup is yogurt. Made in various regions around the globe, particularly in the Middle East, yogurt soups are healthy and delicious--plus each recipe offers many variations. For the brave and curious chef, here is an example of yogurt soup that is quick, filling, and delicious bordering addictive--and the best part, it costs under $5 to make.

There are many variations of this soup that are popular in Middle East and the Caucus regions of Eastern Europe. The taste for some is absolutely addictive because of the smooth texture of the soup and the slightly (but pleasantly) bitter taste. Here is the recipe:

1 small onion, diced
1 Tbsp. of butter
5 sprigs of cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup white rice
1 32 oz. container of Plain Yogurt (NOT vanilla)
Salt to taste

In a standard or large sized soup pot, saute the onion in butter until it is soft--but do not let it begin to brown. Next, fill the pot with water. Bring the water to a boil. Spoon in half the container of yogurt, and the rice. Let the ingredients come to a boil once more, and then set them to simmer for 20 minutes. Finally, turn off the burner, and stir in the remainder of fresh yogurt. Toss in the cilantro and salt, and let it cool.

There are many variations of this soup, including replacing the cilantro with parsley or mint, adding cucumber, adding chicken broth, and even spooning an egg into the mix to boil it along with the rice--which turns out simply divine! But I personally think the simple version above is the tastiest, and the least costly.

So, does this soup sound like something you'd try? Or is it way too weird for you? And by all means, feel free to share some of your favorite strange and cheap recipes! We'd love to learn about them.