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Red Lentil Soup with Potato and Lemon
Turkish red lentil soup, called kırmızı mercimek çorbası, is a classic dish and a ubiquitous offering in Turkish eateries. There are many versions of the soup, some with a base of chicken stock, others made vegetarian; some that include only with lentils plus a few aromatics, others fortified with rice. Istanbul home cook Emine Nese Daglar, and grandmother of chef Cagla Gurses, taught us her pressure-cooked version, which we adapted for conventional stovetop simmering. To add flavor and color, she uses a Turkish pepper paste called biber salçası; as a substitute we find tomato paste plus roasted red peppers work nicely. She also blends her soup to a smooth, elegant puree, as is traditional, but we prefer to keep ours rustic in texture. Lemon juice is an essential ingredient in kırmızı mercimek çorbası. It brings a brightness that balances the earthiness of the lentils.
4
Servings
Don’t serve the soup immediately after stirring in the lemon juice.* Allow it to stand for a few minutes so the flavors mix and meld.
50 minutes
15 minutes active
Ingredients
-
⅓
cup extra-virgin olive oil
-
1
medium yellow onion, chopped
Directions
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01In a large saucepan over medium-high, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onion, garlic and 1 teaspoon salt, then cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes.
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