Ezogelin çorbası

Step 1: Heat 2 ⅛ tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add 1 onion and cook for 5–6 minutes until soft and just turning golden at the edges.

Step 2: Add 2 garlic cloves and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Stir in 1 tbsp tomato paste and 1 tbsp Turkish red pepper paste (biber salçası) and fry for 1–2 minutes, stirring, until they darken to brick red and smell rich.

Step 3: Add 5 ½ oz red lentils, 1 ⅜ oz fine bulgur wheat and 1 oz short-grain rice and stir to coat them in the paste. Pour in 6 ¼ cups hot vegetable stock and bring to the boil.

Step 4: Lower the heat and simmer, partly covered, for 25 minutes, stirring often, especially towards the end. The common mistake is leaving it alone: lentils and bulgur settle and catch on the bottom, and a scorched taste spreads through the whole pot. It is ready when the lentils have melted, the rice is soft and the soup is thick but still pourable.

Step 5: Season with 1 tsp salt. For a creamier soup, give it 3 or 4 pulses with a stick blender, but leave plenty of texture.

Step 6: Warm the rest of ⅞ tbsp olive oil in a small pan over a low heat, take it off the heat and stir in 1 tsp Aleppo pepper (pul biber). Rub 2 tsp dried mint between your palms over the soup, stir, then drizzle over the red oil.

Step 7: Serve hot with 1 lemon wedges and bread.