Description
Turkish red lentil soup is comforting, filling, and most importantly, extremely delicious. Served with a spicy buttery sauce and copiously drizzled with lemon juice, this lentil soup packs a flavor punch. It will make any gloomy day 100% better.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Turkish red lentil soup:
- 400g red lentils (kirmizi mercimek) (2 cups)
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 potato
- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- 2 tsp salt, heaped
- 1 tsp Turkish mild red pepper paste (tatlı biber salçası), heaped (or use tomato paste)
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1.75L water (7 ½ cups)
For the soup toppings:
- 40g butter (3 tbsp)
- ¾ tsp Turkish kirmizi biber (or use your preferred red chili powder)
- 1 lemon, quartered
Instructions
- Wash the lentils. Place the lentils in a strainer and rinse well under cold running water for 1 min, rubbing the lentils between your fingers. Set aside.
- Cook the vegetables. Peel and roughly chop the potato, carrot and onion. Heat the oil in a deep non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the vegetables along with the salt. Cook for 10 min mixing often with a wooden spoon.
- Make the soup. Add the flour and stir thoroughly. Add the red pepper (or tomato) paste and spread it all over the vegetables with the spoon. Cook for 2 min then stir in the strained lentils. Top everything with the water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low, cover the pan with a lid and cook for 35 min. The lentils should be totally soft by then. Remove from the heat and blend the Turkish red lentil soup with an immersion blender. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning accordingly. Return the pan to low heat while you make the sauce.
- Make the sauce. Melt the butter in a small frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the kirmizi biber (red chili powder), stir with a wooden spoon and sizzle for 30 seconds. Keep an eye on the pan because the powder can burn pretty quickly (it’ll turn dark and bitter and you’ll have to start again).
- Serve. Ladle the Turkish red lentil soup into bowls, drizzle the sauce over the soup and serve immediately with wedges of lemon.
Notes
The soup will thicken as it cools down. Gently warm it through and the consistency will turn back to normal. You can also stir in a little bit of just-boiled water to thin it down.
Turkish red lentil soup can keep for up to 3 days covered in the fridge. If you want to keep it for longer, don’t hesitate to freeze it (for up to 3 months).
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 698
- Fat: 20g
Keywords: lentil soup, turkish soup, red lentils recipes