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Red lentil soup with mint

Red Lentil Soup with Mint

Good for the soul and easy on the stomach. In Turkey, no lunch — and in some places, no breakfast — is complete without lentil soup (mercimek çorbası). Its main ingredients are water, red lentils, and pepper, usually red as well. There are many variations on this base: the soup gets rounded out with tomato paste, onion, carrot, garlic, dried mint, sometimes even potato, and its flavor is softened with milk or cream.

Olga

Recipe author

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Red lentils (red lentils are most often used for soups — they cook down in just ten to fifteen minutes)

150

Onion (yellow onion is usually fairly pungent, with a lingering aroma, so many people prefer not to use it raw)

Carrot (until the 17th century, carrots in Europe were mostly white or pale yellow — you can see them that way in Flemish still lifes)

Sunflower oil (cold-pressed sunflower oil has a bold, seedy aroma that varies in how toasty it tastes)

Butter (butter is the most accessible of flavor boosters)

Wheat flour (use an all-purpose flour, good for bread, pancakes, other baking, and dredging)

Heavy cream (33% — heavy cream is key here because it won't curdle when heated)

Salt (a universal flavor catalyst — don't skip it, but don't overdo it either)

Ground black pepper (black pepper isn't its color at harvest — the green berries are soaked and then dried)

Lemons (even a teaspoon of lemon juice can transform any dish — whether a salad dressing or a bowl of lentil soup)

1.2

Mint (thanks to the menthol in it, mint brings a fresh, cooling note even to hot dishes, which is why it's so good in meat stews, especially lamb)

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 18 % 6 g

Fats 29 % 10 g

Carbohydrates 53 % 18 g

189 kcal

GI: 83 / 0 / 17

Cooking method

Cooking time: 30 min

Step 1:

Pour a liter of water or pre-made broth into a small pot and add the rinsed lentils. There's no need to soak them, since they cook down quickly. Set the pot over medium heat.
Step 2:

Grate a small carrot on the coarse side of a box grater and finely chop a small onion. As soon as the lentils start to boil, lower the heat, skim off any foam with a spoon or slotted spoon, then add another 200 ml of water or broth. Cook for another ten minutes.
Step 3:

Heat a wide, flat skillet, pour in the sunflower oil, and add the diced butter. Add the onion and cook for a minute or two until golden, then add the carrot and cook, stirring constantly and tossing lightly, for another three to four minutes, until the vegetables soften. Sprinkle in the flour and keep cooking, stirring, for about three more minutes.
Step 4:

Carefully transfer the mixture from the skillet into the pot and stir. Season with salt and pepper. If you want an authentic Turkish flavor, you can add more pepper, but a teaspoon is more than enough. Take the pot off the heat. Add the cream and gently blend the soup with an immersion blender until it becomes a thick purée.
Step 5:

Ladle the soup into bowls, perch a lemon wedge on the rim of each, and add a sprig of mint or parsley. You can serve breadsticks alongside, too. To finish, drizzle a few drops of cream over the soup with a spoon.