This is a Turkish style soup that I had at a great restaurant in France and since the Chef is a friend, he shared his recipe, because, as he said, “where the hell in American are you going to get good soup.” I don’t credit him here since after doing some research on traditional Turkish red lentil soup, I made some adjustments, plus, I’m not sure he’d want me posting his recipes. This is a quick and easy soup to make but its packed with flavors and all that healthy stuff in soup.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Red lentils
- 40 oz Vegetable stock – 5 cups
- 2 TBL olive oil
- 1 TBL Tomato paste
- 1 Onion – diced
- 1 Carrot – grated
- 1 Garlic Clove – minced
- 1 Small Potato – quartered
- 1 Lemon – juiced
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground Cumin
- 1 tsp sweet Paprika
- 0.5 tsp Black pepper
- 2 TBL fresh Mint
- 2 TBL fresh Parsley
- Optional – Sumac
Process
- Mise en Place – Measure and prepare your ingredients prior to starting.
- Repeatedly soak lentils in water and drain until water is clear.
- Heat Dutch oven on med.
- Add olive oil and let warm.
- Saute onions and carrots until onions are almost translucent.
- Add garlic, cumin, paprika, tomato paste, mint, and parsley and cook 1 min.
- Add vegetable stock, lentils, and potatoes and simmer 20 mins, until lentils are soft.
- Add lemon juice salt and pepper.
- Pour half into blender and puree, then repeat with other half (or puree in pot).
- If soup is too thick, add water.
- Serve in bowls and sprinkle sumac on top. Can also garnish with mint and/or parsley.
