Yogurt, in all its forms, is an essential element of Eastern Mediterranean cuisine. Soups made with yogurt are a particular comfort food in Turkey and are served hot in the winter months and cold in the summers. While those Turkish soups often add rice and maybe saffron, we love this fresh, garlicky version. Closer in style to the cold Persian soup called abdoog khiar, with flavors of cucumbers, raisins and rose petals, it's a perfect canvas for the season: peas in spring, corn in summer and crisp honey apples in autumn. Okay, I know there's a lot of slicing and dicing involved just to create the garnish, but that's what makes it so interesting and versatile. We like to add a touch of salty feta flavor to the soup by adding a little of the brine that the feta blocks are stored in.
