Turkish red lentil soup: delicate and delicious

Boston Globe

17-02-2025

There are so many reasons to make it part of your kitchen repertoire. Red lentils cook down into a puree in just half an hour, the soup is impossible to harm when you go to reheat it, the mixture has a little heft from chickpeas and rice or bulgur, and it's barely spicy (at least my version isn't). At the table, top your bowl with fresh mint, crushed red pepper, and a jolt of lemon juice, a winning, zesty finish.
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Red lentils are the jewels of the lentil family. For soup, the tiny, split, coral-colored legumes are simmered in water (though some cooks use meat or poultry stock) with a handful of root vegetables. It's lighter, less rich, and less dense than the lentil soup you may already know.
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If you prepare soup with small brown lentils, you may be using some version of a recipe in the '
Red lentils are far more delicate. A pot of soup, seasoned with crushed red pepper and a little cumin and paprika, has a pleasing array of flavors, none so forward it takes over. Made with water, which is all you need, the soup is vegan.
The spices you add to the pot determines its color. Sprinkle something red into the pot – paprika or tomatoes, for instance – to get a coral color. The puree can also be a yellowish hue when turmeric is in the mix.
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The Middle Eastern version of the soup, Shorbat Adas, made in Lebanon, Syria, and neighboring countries, is often eaten to break the fast during Ramadan, the holy Muslim
South Indian cooks turn red lentils into Masoor Dal, a spicy puree served with rice.
At the Turkish restaurant,
My Turkish red lentil soup is pink from paprika, though there's only a tablespoon in it, along with a tablespoon of ground cumin. It simmers with a chopped jalapeno, softened in olive oil with onion and celery at the start of cooking. But the pot is only mildly spicy because the red lentils absorb the heat. I add chickpeas and a little long-grain white rice (other cooks add bulgur), the first for texture because chickpeas don't fall apart in the pot, the second to give the red lentils some body.
The plain soup is nourishing and delicious. The lemon-mint-pepper topping makes it soar, especially with Turkish-grown
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TURKISH RED LENTIL SOUP
SERVINGS: 6
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons olive oil
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1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
1 jalapeno or other chile pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon Maras pepper or crushed red pepper, or more to taste
1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, drained
2 cups red lentils
1/4 cup long-grain white rice
1 1/2 quarts water, or more if needed
Extra Maras pepper or crushed red pepper (for sprinkling)
1 bunch fresh mint, leaves chopped (for garnish)
1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges (for serving)
INSTRUCTIONS
1.
In a soup pot over medium-low heat, heat the olive oil. When it is hot, add the onion, celery, and jalapeno or chile pepper. Cook, stirring often, for 8 minutes, or until the vegetables soften.
2.
Add the cumin, paprika, and Maras or crushed red pepper. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
3.
Add the chickpeas, lentils, and rice. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
4.
Pour in the water, turn up the heat, and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat, cover the pot, and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the red lentils are almost pureed. If the soup seems too thick during cooking, stir in more water, 1/4 cup at a time. The consistency should be like thick cream.
5.
Taste the soup for seasoning and add more salt, if you like.
6.
Ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle with Maras pepper or crushed red pepper and mint. Serve with lemon.
Note: The soup tastes better the following day but will solidify in the fridge. Use the edge of a large kitchen spoon to cut the block into large pieces. Transfer the mixture to a soup pot. Add about 2 tablespoons of water and heat over medium heat, stirring often, and adding more water a few spoons at a time, until the soup is a loose puree. When the soup comes to a boil, let it simmer over very low heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, to heat through.
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RECIPE VARIATIONS
Add more chickpeas (an extra can) to make a chunkier soup.
Garnish bowls with toasted French bread croutons, as cooks do at Halva Mediterranean Grill in Watertown.
Toast small squares of pita bread and add as a garnish.
Use chicken or vegetable stock in place of water for a more robust taste.
Did you make this soup?
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to let us know how it turned out.
In this week's newsletter:
Chef, author, and photographer — and special guest writer of the Winter Soup Club newsletter! —
shares her recipe for lemon artichoke miso & ginger soup.
Sheryl Julian can be reached at