During the cooking process, the soup cooks very quickly. You will only need 30-40 minutes from the time you begin cooking to the time you serve. The ingredients are prepared (peel and cut potatoes, carrots, and onions) in 5-7 minutes, and then the vegetables are fried in 5 minutes. After that, all that needs to be done is to boil the lentils and puree them. The turkish lentil soup recipe is as follows:
Remove any foreign debris from your lentils, rinse twice or three times, drain, and set aside.
Sauté the olive oil and onion with a pinch of salt in a large saucepan over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Sauté the vegetables for another 3 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste for approximately 1 minute. Sauté for 10 seconds to let the cumin, paprika, mint, thyme, black pepper, and red pepper bloom. Add the lentils, water, broth, and salt right away. Bring the soup to a simmer.
Reduce the heat to medium, cover halfway, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the lentils have fallen apart and the carrots are totally cooked.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the olive oil, paprika, and red pepper to produce the paprika oil. Remove the skillet from the heat as soon as the paprika begins to boil. It’s finished.
After the soup has simmered and the lentils are soft, mix it in a blender or with a hand blender to the desired consistency. Season to taste, and add more salt if required.
Serve the soup with a drizzle of paprika oil, lemon wedges, and more mint and red pepper for everyone to personalize.
What is the texture of this soup?
Turkish lentil soup, in contrast to many other lentil soups, is often super-smooth and brothy, simply seasoned with only a few basic spices, and served with fresh mint and lemon wedges, plus an occasional sprinkling of Aleppo pepper or pepper oil for added heat. It is a semi-liquid and rich soup. In Istanbul, this lentil soup was always served as an appetizer, frequently with some freshly baked lavash on the side. And it was always wonderful and delectable. The butter, in the end, makes it more rich and creamy. This is a smooth soup that comes loaded with veggies and nutritional value. It is one such soup found on the menu cards of most restaurants in Turkey.