Best Turkish Lentil Soup Recipes

TURKISH RED LENTIL SOUP WITH MINT

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over high heat. Cook and stir the onion in the hot oil until it begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Stir the garlic into the onion and cook another 2 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes to the onion mixture; continue to cook and stir another 10 minutes.
• Pour in the chicken stock, red lentils, bulgur, rice, tomato paste, paprika, cayenne pepper, and mint to the tomato mixture; season with salt and black pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook at a simmer until the the lentils and rice are cooked through, about 30 minutes.
• Pour the soup into a blender to no more than half full. Firmly hold the lid in place and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth; pour into your serving dish. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup in cooking pot.

TURKISH RED LENTIL 'BRIDE' SOUP

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Cook the onions in the hot butter until they are golden brown, about 15 minutes.
• Stir the paprika, lentils, and bulgur into the onions and coat with the butter.
• Add the tomato paste, vegetable stock, and cayenne pepper; bring to a boil and cook until soft and creamy, about 1 hour.
• Crumble the dried mint leaves into the soup; stir the soup and remove from heat.
• Ladle into bowls and garnish with lemon slices and fresh mint to serve.

TURKISH RED LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• 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 for 40-40 minutes 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.

TURKISH SPINACH AND LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Rinse the lentils.
• Bring them to a boil in the beef broth.
• Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a heavy soup pot. Saute the onions until translucent. Add the garlic, cayeene, bay leaves and bulgur.
• Stir the mixture on medium heat until the onions and bulgur are lightly browned.
• Mix in the parsley and tomatoes.
• When the tomatoes begin to give up their juice, gently stir in the tomato paste. Pour the lentils and their liquid into the soup pot with the onions and bulgur.
• Simmer the soup for 15 minutes.
• Add the rosemary, salt and pepper to taste. If the lentils and bulgur have absorbed too much liquid, add more broth, water or tomato juice. Remove the bay leaves.
• Just before serving, stir in the fresh spinach and let it wilt in the hot soup.
• Garnish with more fresh parsley.
• NOTES : Serve this soup with crusty bread.
• Broil the bread on both sides, rubbed with a cut garlic clove, and drizzled with olive oil.

VEGAN TURKISH RED LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and 1 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes. Add thyme sprigs, garlic, cumin, and bay leaves; cook, stirring, for 1 minute more.
• Add vegetable broth, tomatoes, red lentils, tomato paste, oregano, remaining salt, and pepper to the saucepan. Cover partially and simmer, stirring occasionally, until lentils are very soft and falling apart, 30 to 45 minutes.
• Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Let soup cool briefly, about 10 minutes. Transfer 4 cups of soup to a blender; blend until smooth. Mix back into the saucepan. Stir in water. Ladle soup into bowls; garnish with chopped parsley and a squirt of lemon juice.

JESSICA'S TURKISH SPINACH AND LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Rinse lentils and bring to a boil in 5 cups salted water or stock. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer, covered for 40 minutes.
• While lentils boil, in a separate stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat and sauté onions and the optional bacon. When the onions just begin to soften, add garlic, cayenne, bay leaves, cumin, coriander and chili powder. Cook for a few minutes, but don't allow garlic to brown.
• Add tomatoes and crush with a spoon to your desired consistency. If lentils are ready, add them to the tomato mixture now. If not, take tomatoes off heat and wait for lentils.
• Once lentils have been added to the tomatoes, simmer for 15 minutes over medium heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. You may also want to add some more spices if you like a little more kick to it.
• Add frozen spinach and cook another five minutes. If using fresh spinach, only cook for two minutes.
• If wanted, serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream.
• The lentils do soak up a lot of liquid, so for reheating, you may need to add more stock.

TURKISH RED LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Place the lentils and rice in a sieve, rinse well and allow to drain.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy four-quart saucepan. Add the onion, and saute until soft but not brown. Stir in the tomato paste, tomato, paprika and cayenne pepper. Add the lentils, rice and stock. Stir well, and simmer, covered, 30 minutes, until the rice is cooked and the lentils have virtually dissolved into a puree. Stir from time to time.
• Add salt to taste. If the soup is too thick, add a little water.
• Serve each portion sprinkled with mint leaves and croutons, with lemon wedges and yogurt on the side.

TURKISH RED LENTIL SOUP (KIRMIZI MERCIMEK ÇORBASI)

Steps:

• In a large pot, bring to a boil 10 to 12 cups of water; add lentils, 2 teaspoons salt, cover and reduce heat, letting simmer for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat another pot, over medium heat, and add onions, cover with olive oil, and 1 teaspoon salt; once it begins to sizzle, reduce heat to low and cover for about 5 minutes.
• To the second pot, add bulgur, pepper, cayenne, and cumin; stir until lightly browned.
• Add tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley, and 4 cups chicken broth; bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.
• Pour the contents of the second pot into the large soup pot with the lentils; cover and simmer until the bulgur and the lentils are soft, about an additional 40 minutes.
• You may add additional water if you like a thinner soup (as we do).
• Stir in lemon juice or vinegar; serve a dollop of yogurt with each serving, if desired.

RED LENTIL SOUP-TURKISH STYLE

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan melt butter over medium heat.
• Add onions, lentils and carrots.
• Cook, stirring often for 5 minutes.
• Add paprika and tomato paste and stir well to mix.
• Reduce heat to low and cook for a few minutes.
• Gradually add stock or water, stirring constantly.
• Simmer uncovered until lentils are v-e-r-y soft, around 30 minutes.
• Transfer to a food processor or blender and puree to smooth.
• Return to pan and add milk or lemon juice to taste.
• Taste and add salt, pepper and cayenne.
• Give it 5 minutes and taste again, adjust seasonings.
• Ladle into bowls and offer croutons and mint at the table.

INSTANT POT® TURKISH RED LENTIL SOUP WITH ALEPPO PEPPER OIL

Steps:

• Turn on a multi-functional pressure cooker (such as Instant Pot®) and select Saute function. Melt butter until foamy. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Push onion and garlic to one side of the pot and add olive oil. Toast paprika and cumin for 30 seconds. Stir in tomato paste. Add lentils, rice, and salt. Pour in water and turn off Saute function.
• Close and lock the lid. Select high pressure according to manufacturer's instructions; set timer for 3 minutes. Allow 10 to 15 minutes for pressure to build.
• Release pressure using the natural-release method according to manufacturer's instructions, about 5 minutes. Release remaining pressure using the quick-release method, about 5 minutes. Unlock and remove the lid. Adjust seasoning to taste.
• Meanwhile, heat extra-virgin olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat, swirling to coat the entire skillet. Add Aleppo pepper and cook until a few bubbles appear and the oil is bright red. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Ladle soup into bowls, drizzle with Aleppo pepper oil, sprinkle with fresh mint, and serve with lemon wedges.

TURKISH BRIDE LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the butter in a large saucepan and saute the onions over low heat until they are golden--about 15 minutes. Stir in the paprika, then the lentils and bulgur to coat them in the butter. Add the tomato paste, stock, and hot pepper, bring to a boil, and cook until soft and creamy--about an hour. When ready to serve, crumble the mint between your palms into the soup. Stir and remove the soup from the heat. Let rest for 10 minutes, then ladle into bowls, serving each with a lemon wedge and a sprinkling of mint leaves (if available) or crushed dried mint.

MERCIMEK ÇORBASı (TURKISH LENTIL SOUP)

Steps:

• 1. Place the lentils in a bowl of warm water and soak (an hour early, if possible) 2. Chop onions and garlic, saute in 2-3 spoonfuls of olive oil until soft, adding about 1 tbsp cumin as they become fragrant. 3. Add chopped tomato and cook for a few minutes until soft. 4. Add 2-3 cups of chicken stock and soaked lentils and bring to a boil; add 3-4 tablespoons of dried mint, 1 teaspoon dried chili pepper, and a dash or two of salt and pepper. Add 2-3 tablespoons tomato paste (optional, but nice). Add water (or more stock) to keep a soupy consistency. 5. Cook on medium heat for at least 30-40 minutes (like most things with lentils, it's better after a few hours, and best the next day), adding liquid as necessary. Season with more mint, chili, salt and pepper as needed, to taste. 6. When lentils are soft and the mixture has become creamy, turn down the heat. You can puree the soup in batches if you like; but it's also fine as is. 7. Serve with lemon slices (or just add a little lemon juice at the end) and topped with yogurt, more pulbiber/chili pepper flakes, and sumac.

TURKISH RED LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Combine everything into a pot, and bring to a boil.
• Lower the heat, loosely cover the pot, and let simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils have completely softened.
• Let the soup cool for about 5-10 minutes (you can also cheat and just pop the pot in the fridge or freezer for a couple minutes while catching up on work and texting, like I did!).
• Pour the soup in a blender to puree it nicely.
• After pureeing, I sometimes like to pop in a can of big white beans like great northern beans, navy beans, cannellini, or butterbeans with a little fresh cilantro if I happen to have any on hand. These are found in piyaz, another delicious meze.
• Garnish with lemon and/or fresh mint, and serve with some delicious pitas, toasty Turkish bread, or sigara bourek!

TURKISH RED LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• 1. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper. Sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cumin, and toast until aromatic, 2-3 minutes. 2. Stir in lentils and water, increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, season with salt and simmer until lentils are tender, 10-15 minutes. Add bulgur and simmer until grains increase in volume and tenderize, about 8 minutes more. (Soup should have the consistency of porridge.) Stir in remaining butter, mint, red pepper flakes and sumac, if using. Once butter melts, season to taste with salt. Ladle soup into bowls and top each serving with a dollop of yogurt and sprinkle of pomegranate seeds.

TURKISH GREEN LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Sautee the onion with butter for 4-5 minutes in a medium-sized pot.
• Then add the flour, stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
• Pour in the hot water slowly, stirring constantly. Make sure the flour doesn't clump.
• Add in the washed and drained lentils, salt and cumin.
• Cook until the lentils are soft on medium heat. Stir occasionally. Taste it along the way and if necessary, add more salt or water. Pour the soup into your soup bowls with a ladle.
• Mix the garnish ingredients in a small bowl. Pour 1 tbsp of the garnish in each soup bowl.

TURKISH RED LENTIL SOUP WITH MINT

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in large pot over high heat. Cook and stir the onion until it begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Stir the garlic into the onion and cook another 2 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes to the onion mixture; continue to cook and stir another 10 minutes.
• Pour in the chicken stock, red lentils, bulgur, rice, tomato paste, paprika, cayenne and mint to the tomato mixture; season with salt and pepper. Bring soup to boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook at a simmer until the lentils and rice are cooked through, about 30 minutes.
• Pour soup into blender (no more than half full). Firmly hold lid in place and blend using quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth, pour into serving dish. (Can also use immersion blender in cooking pot.)

TURKISH LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, over high heat, bring stock to boil.
• Add onions, garlic, carrots, lentils, parsley, bay leaf, cumin, thyme, salt and pepper.
• Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally for 15 - 20 minutes or until vegetables and lentils are tender.
• Discard bay leaf.
• Remove 3 cups of soup. Process (in batches) in food processor or blender until smooth.
• Return to saucepan. Simmer for 5 minutes.
• Adjust seasonings.
• Squeeze lemon juice into individual servings.
• Freezes well. (244 calories per 1 1/2 cup of soup).