Turkish Red Lentil Soup (Ezogelin Çorbası)

 Fantastic Winter Red Lentil Soup (Ezogelin Çorbası)

This Turkish “stone soup” is the nation’s favorite. The legend has is that a newly wed (gelin) Ezo had nothing at hand to prepare a meal, and she came up with this red lentil soup. Its ingredient list is literally the essential Turkish pantry.

Source: Adapted from The Sultan’s Kitchen by Özcan Ozan

Prep Time: 5 Min
Cook Time: 45 Min
Total time: 50 Min

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced 
• 1 tbsp high quality tomato paste
• 1 tbsp red bell pepper paste (can omit)
• 1 small tomato peeled and finely chopped
• 8 tbsp red lentils, thoroughly washed
• 2 tbsp short-grain rice
• 9 cups boiling water
  
• 2.5 tbsp fine bulgur
• 1 tbsp salt
• ¹⁄₂ tsp dried mint
• ¹⁄₂ tsp red pepper flakes
• fresh parsley for serving
• lemon wedges for serving

Directions

In a large cooking pot heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic for 3-5 minutes, or until it becomes softening. Stir in the tomato and peppers pastes and then chopped tomato; let cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the lentils and rice and then pour the boiling water. Bring the soup to a boil and lower the heat to a minimum. Simmer covered for about 30 minutes, or until the lentils fall apart. After about 20 minutes check the soup to make sure lentils do not stick to the bottom of the saucepan.

As the lentils are cooked, add the fine bulgur and salt. Cook for another 10 minutes stirring occasionally: you can use a sturdy whisk for stirring at this point to help the lentils break and make soup creamier. Taste for salt and adjust, if needed. Finally, crush the dry mint and red pepper flakes in the soup, cover and let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving. Serve with the fresh parsley sprinkled over every bowl and lemon wedges on the side.