We can eat soup any time of year (or, as they say in Turkish, drink it). We love fish soup, but we also like meat and vegetable-based soups (like our first-day minestrone and our new-and-improved beef stew). But we especially like soup in the winter. And it’s getting cold and wet in Istanbul. So we have been comforting ourselves with a wide variety of soups in a wide variety of locales. Some of the most popular are beyran (lamb fat with shredded lamb and hot pepper) and those featuring various kinds of offal. We’ve also eaten a whole bunch of great veggie-based soups (NB to vegetarians: the majority of these have meat-based stocks, so ask if you care). For this post, we concentrate on the humble but fantastic lentil soup (mercimek çorbaşı).
Probably you think you know lentil soup. We thought we did too: it’s fine, but nothing to write home about. But the Turkish version has a few add-ons that take it toward extraordinary: lemon, dried mint, and hot pepper. And it’s got a base of red lentils, which gives it a lovely colour (and makes it cook faster than the brown kinds).
You will need:
No equipment beyond kitchen essentials. Makes about six servings, though we usually manage to eat it in four. Takes under an hour to make. We have seen fights break out about whether this recipe needs potatoes. If you want to, throw a couple in: we are soup-eaters (er, -drinkers), not fighters. Also, in the realm of fighting: don’t tell any Moroccans this is a Turkish soup. Their version has a slightly different spice profile, but it’s not worth throwing a punch over.
- 2T/30g olive oil
- one onion, diced
- three or four cloves of garlic, or more, minced or sliced (depending on whether you want it to disappear or have bites of garlic)
- one large or two small carrots, diced
- 1T/15g tomato paste (optional, but nice; you could also use sun-dried tomatoes)
- 1t/4g cumin
- 2t/8g hot paprika or Aleppo pepper or cayenne pepper
- 2T/30g mint
- 2t/8g oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 c/250g lentils
- 5 c/20 oz stock or water
- one lemon
- pepper oil (optional, or make your own by heating a neutral oil with as much hot pepper as you like)
- Crusty bread or pita or rolls
Lentil Soup Recipe
Heat up the oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until they soften and change colour, about 5 mins., then add garlic and carrots and sauté another five minutes or so. Once all of the vegetables are soft, add in the tomato paste (or sun-dried tomatoes, chopped) and a splash of water to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Add all of the herbs and spices and the lentils and water or stock, then bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, adding water or stock if you need to. The lentils will soften and eventually dissolve into mush, within about 45 minutes. You’re done! Squeeze the juice of a lemon onto individual servings; you can also add additional herbs, fresh or dried, and drizzle pepper oil on top. Serve with the bread of your choice.
We think this lentil soup is perfect for a cool day, and sometimes we eat it all day long. Freezes beautifully too, so you can double or triple the recipe.
