Mercimek çorbası
Mercimek çorbası: smooth red lentil soup with lemon and pepper butter
If one soup feeds Turkey, it is this. Mercimek çorbası is on the counter of every lokanta (tradesmen's restaurant), in factory and hospital canteens, and it is often what Turks eat for breakfast on a cold morning or to break the fast in Ramadan. Red lentils simmered with onion, carrot and potato are blended until velvety, then each bowl gets a squeeze of lemon and a swirl of butter sizzled with Aleppo pepper and dried mint. It is warming, cheap and filling. Chef's tip: rinse the lentils in several changes of water until it runs clear; it washes off the starch that makes the soup foam and taste dusty.
- Total time
- 35 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the soup
To serve
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Warm 2 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add 1 onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until soft and translucent but not brown.
5 minStep 2: Add 1 carrot and 1 potato and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in 1 tbsp tomato paste and 1 tsp ground cumin and cook for 1 minute until the paste darkens and smells sweet.
3 minStep 3: Add 7 oz red lentils and 5 cups hot vegetable stock, bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer, partly covered, for 20 minutes, stirring now and then so nothing catches on the bottom. The lentils should be completely broken down and the carrot soft enough to crush against the side of the pan.
20 minStep 4: Blend with a stick blender until completely smooth and velvety. Season with 1 tsp salt and ¼ tsp ground black pepper. The soup should coat the back of a spoon; a common mistake is leaving it too thin, so simmer it a few more minutes if needed, or add hot water if it is thick like porridge.
2 minStep 5: Just before serving, melt ⅔ oz butter in a small pan over a medium heat until it foams, then take it off the heat and stir in 1 tsp Aleppo pepper (pul biber) and ½ tsp dried mint. It will sizzle and turn red.
Step 6: Ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle over the pepper butter and serve with 1 lemon wedges to squeeze in at the table.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 15 g
- Carbs
- 42 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 9 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does mercimek çorbası take?
- About 35 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of carrot?
- Parsnip or sweet potato, same weight.
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