I have tried several recipes for Red Lentil Soup. This is a combination/synthesis of a few of them. I served it at a dinner party and received lots of compliments!
Ezogelin 莽orbas谋 (Red Lentil Soup with mint and bulgur)
1 Tb olive oil
1 Tb margarine or butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 Tb dried mint
1/2 Tb (1 1/2 tsp) dried thyme
1 Tb paprika
2 Tb tomato paste
1 medium tomato, diced
1/2 cup red lentils, heaping
1/3 cup fine grain bulgur
6-7 cups vegetable or chicken broth
salt, pepper, and hot red pepper to taste
Saute onion in oil and butter for 4 minutes. Add mint, thyme, and paprika and saute another 2-3 minutes. Add tomato paste and tomato; stir well to mix everything together for about 1 minute. Add lentils, bulgur, and 6 cups of broth. Turn heat to medium-high to bring to a boil, then lower heat to low and cook soup at a simmer/gentle boil for 30 minutes. Stir soup and taste. Add salt, pepper, and hot red pepper to taste, and adjust spices if you'd like. Cook another 10 minutes. If soup is too thick, add a bit more stock and stir well. Turn off heat. For best results, pour the soup through a collander and blend all of the solids in a blender or food processor for 3-5 minutes. This step is optional, but it improves the flavor and texture of the soup significantly.
Notes:
-Bulgur is available at many supermarkets, at health food stores, and at middle eastern shops. If you can't find it, you can use rice. Brown rice is closer in flavor to bulgur than white rice; if you use brown rice, though, increase simmering time by 15 minutes. You can also use couscous.
-Some supermarkets don't stock dried mint. If you have trouble finding it, tear open a few mint tea bags.
-If you like garlic, you can add 2 crushed or finely chopped garlic cloves at the same time as the paprika, thyme, and mint.
-To make the soup look extra fancy, melt 2 Tb butter or margarine in a saucepan with 1 tsp mint and 1/2 tsp paprika. Drizzle a bit of the mixture over each bowl of soup. Try to make a little spiral pattern as you drizzle.
-The soup stores well in the fridge for several days (it actually tastes better the next day, after flavors have blended thoroughly). It thickens up when stored, though, so you might want to stir in some water or broth when you're serving leftover soup.
Enjoy!What's a good recipe for Turkish Lentil Soup?
Turkish Red Lentil Soup
* 1 cup red lentil, washed and cleaned
* 4 cups vegetable stock
* 1/4 cup mild onion, finely chopped
* 1/2 cup white potato, peeled and diced
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
* pepper (to taste)
Place the red lentils in a colandar and rinse. Sift through to remove and debris or damaged beans.
Place the washed and cleaned lentils into a medium pot with the stock, potatoes, onions and paprika. Bring the pot to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Loosely place a lid on the pot leaving slightly ajar as to allow some evaporation. Cook until the lentils are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Place all but 1 cup of the soup into a blender or food processor and blend briefly. Return blended soup to the pot with the reserved cup of soup. Heat through. Serve...
Since you failed to mention which type of lentils you wanted on this site there are lots of authentic turkish dishes. There are several soups for you to choose from.
Happy eating
For Red Lentil Soup:
http://www.turkishcookbook.com/2005/10/r鈥?/a>
For Green Lentil Soup:
http://www.turkishcookbook.com/2005/11/g鈥?/a>
Here is a site with different lentil recipes from all over the world.
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