Red Lentil Soup (Mercimek Çorbası)
The recipe is a classic, only the toasted sunflower seeds is my addition: I quite like adding a crunch to the creamy soups like this one, and tossing in buttery seeds is a great way to do so. If I were a thrifty home cook feeding a crowd (or a unsavory Istanbul canteen) I would have probably added a bit more flour and water than specified in the recipe to stretch the soup, but I don’t see such a need.
Serves 4-6
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 40 min in a pressure cooker or 1 h 10 min in a regular pot
Total time: 45 min to 1 H 15 Min
Ingredients
1 cup red lentils, washed and drained
1 medium potato, peeled, washed and cut into 1 inch / 2.5 cm dices
1 medium carrot, thoroughly washed and cut into 1 inch / 2.5 cm dices
1 medium onion, peeled and cut into 1 inch / 2.5 cm dices
6 cups water
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp fine sea salt
4 tbsp butter
2 tsp all-purpose flour
dry mint, for serving
red pepper flakes, for serving
1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds, for serving (optional)
melted butter / olive oil, for serving
Directions
Place the red lentils, diced potato, carrot and onion in a pressure cooker. Pour over 6 cups water, close the pressure cooker tightly, bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to a minimum and cook for 30 min. Release all the steam before removing the lid. If not using a pressure cooker, cook the lentils and vegetables in a pot with a tightly fitting lead for 50-60 min, until the lentils turn into a smooth puree. Once done, remove from the heat, add cumin and sea salt. With an immersion blender puree the soup into the homogeneous creamy texture without any lumps.
In a small pan melt the butter in the medium heat and once it starts sizzling stir in the flour. Continue stirring as the roux changes its color from golden to light caramel. At the roux starts browning slightly (after about 2 min), pour it in the soup and stir with the blender. Place the soup pot on the stove, bring to a simmer and let cook for 2-3 minutes on a low heat to let the flour thicken the soup into its comforting velvety state.
Serve immediately, sprinkled with the dry mint, red pepper flakes, toasted sunflower seeds and drizzled with a bit of melted butter / olive oil. You can also temper it with infused butter like here. After being refrigerated overnight the soup thickens; you might want to add a bit of water when reheating it.
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