Turkish Red Lentil Soup

This picture probably looks to you like a simple bowl of soup.  And in many ways, it is exactly that.  But for me, it represents a small personal triumph.  You see, this is my favorite soup from my favorite Turkish restaurant.  It’s delicious–creamy and savory and tangy–a bowl of soul-soothing warmth on a chilly winter’s eve.

But I made it myself, at home.  Stop the presses–I HAVE MASTERED ONE OF MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE SOUPS.

You don’t understand what an accomplishment this is for me.  I love this soup so much I crave it sometimes.  I’ve been trying to replicate it for several years now.  I’ve tried various recipes; I’ve struck out on my own, trying to figure it out by taste and instinct.  I’ve had several near-misses, some lovely concoctions that turned out to be different soups altogether, and a couple of flamboyant disasters that wound up in the garbage can.  I’ve picked the waiter’s brain, to no avail.  I’ve scoured the library for Turkish cookbooks (equally fruitless).  Once I interrogated the cashier at the Turkish grocery store.

But this, finally, is the soup I’ve been dreaming of.

It’s called Mercimek Corbasi (I strongly suspect that means red lentil soup; ideally, there would be a cedilla under the C in corbasi, but I can’t figure out how to do that in WordPress.  Sorry.)  I finally found the formula I was looking for when I went googling–this is the one that worked.

Creamy Red Lentil Soup
Serves 4

1 cup red lentils, rinsed and drained
1 medium onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 T. tomato or red pepper paste*
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
6 cups water

1 lemon

for the topping:
1 T. olive oil
1/2 T. sweet or spicy paprika

Place a pot over low-medium heat.  When it’s hot, spritz it with pan spray, then add the chopped onion.  When the onion is softened and translucent, add the tomato or pepper paste.  Saute, stirring, for a minute or two, then add the rest of the soup ingredients.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.  Cook until the carrots are soft and the lentils begin to disintegrate.

When the soup is done, puree it, using either a regular or a hand-held blender.

Heat the oil in a small skillet, and add the paprika.  Sizzle for about 15 seconds.  Pour a few drops of oil onto each bowl of soup, and finish with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Bosphorus (the Turkish place we love) serves this with a basket of flatbread, topped with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.  Store-bought pita would work just fine–soup plus bread is my hands-down favorite dinner in winter.  You don’t need anything else.

I won’t give up going to the Turkish restaurant–I’m still trying to figure out how they make that bread–but for a quick dinner when it’s too rainy to go out, this is my new go-to.

*I bought the red pepper paste at the Turkish grocery store; I just asked the clerk which kind he recommended for soup.  But if you don’t happen to live near a Turkish grocery store, just use tomato paste.  It has the exact same consistency.