Souppa Trakhanas - Trahana Soup

Description
Trahana is considered the traditional soup of Cyprus. It is made by villagers when they have a lot of extra milk on hand. The trahana itself is a combination of wheat and sour milk that has been boiled in a cauldron to a gruel like paste and then set out to dry. Once dry, it is cut into pellets that can be stored for future use. It is also factory made and can be bought commerically in grocery stores. The soup has a delightful sour vibe to it and can be finished off with a bit of fresh lemon juice. With a crusty loaf of bread, it is a meal in itself.

Ingredients

 * 200g trakhana
 * 1.5ltr stock (meat, Chicken or vegetarian)
 * ½ teaspoon salt
 * 125g Halloumi cut in small cubes
 * 1 egg (optional)

Directions
3Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 30–45 minutes, stirring from time to time. Do not cover the saucepan as it might boil over. Add more water if you think the soup is too thick and cook for few minutes extra.
 * 1) Place the trakhana in a medium sized bowl and cover it with water. Let it soak for few hours. It should soak up all the water.
 * 2) (To speed up the process you can cover it with hot water and when it is partially soft put it in a blender)
 * 3) In a large saucepan bring the stock with the salt to the boil over a high heat, stirring all the time, then add the trakhanas.
 * 1) Five minutes before you turn the heat off add the Halloumi. The egg can be added at this point too; either beat the egg or just crack the shell and pour it into the soup.
 * 2) Gently stir until you take the soup off of the cooker.
 * 3) Serve hot with boiled Chicken or on it’s own with paximathia