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!