Red Lentil Soup

Ingredients (6 to 8 servings)

• 3 cups of red lentils
• 1 medium onion
• 2 carrots
• 3 cups of beef, chicken, or vegetable stock (for vegetarians)
• 2 table spoons of olive oil
• 3 table spoons of butter
• Crushed red pepper to taste
• 2 table spoons Flour
• Salt and pepper to taste

This delicious and healthy soup is ubiquitous Turkey and is very easy to make (should take about 1 hr to prepare). In a kettle or another pot have the stock heated in addition also have some boiling water ready. In a large pot heat the olive oil to medium heat and saute the onions with a pinch of salt of for a few minutes until they start changing color. When the onions are ready, add in chopped carrots, washed red lentils, and the meat or vegetable stock you are using. You can mix chicken and beef or use none at all but note that it does enhance the flavour of the soup quite noticeably. Use the extra boiled water to make sure the lentils are covered at all times and cook for around 45 minutes. Use judgement to obtain the right consistency. You can tell if it is ready if the carrots are soft and the lentils are breaking apart.

At this point melt the butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat and add in the flour and some crushed red pepper. Keep stirring until the flour starts turning brown. When done add this in to the soup. Note that this mixture will thicken the soup so you may want to add some of your boiled water to keep the right consistency. Finally use a hand blender (or a regular blender) until you get a nice smooth liquid. Enjoy!

Serving suggestion: try it with dry mint and a squeeze of lemon.

Green Lentil Soup with Egg Noodles

INGREDIENTS (6 to 8 servings):

• 2 cups of Chicken or Turkey broth (replace with vegetable broth to make it vegetarian)
• 1 lb of green lentils (washed)
• 1 medium yellow onion (chopped)
• 1/4 lb of Egg Noodles (crushed to smaller pieces) or Erishte (Turkish Egg Noodles)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tbsp of butter
• 2 teasp of dry mint
• 2 teasp of Turkish crushed red pepper (paprika would do as well)
• Salt and Black Pepper to taste (tastes good with a lot of pepper!)

This soup is prepared as the main soup and then a butter sauce that is mixed in after the soup is ready.

In a large pot in which you will be making the soup, saute the onions with a pinch of salt over medium heat until they soften a little. Add lentils, broth, boiling water (enough to cover the lentils), and salt and black pepper to taste and cook for about 30 minutes. Occasionally check water level and add more to make sure the lentils are covered. Finally add the egg noodles and cook for another 5-10 minutes (or until they are done).  Again make sure there is enough water to maintain a thick soup consistency.

In a saute pan over medium heat, melt the butter and after it get hot enough add the red pepper and mint and stir for a couple of minutes until the butter gets color from the red pepper (only works for red pepper flakes). Now stir in the sizzling butter into the soup.

Enjoy!