Mercimek Çorbası (Turkish Red Lentil Soup)
TURKEY

Mercimek Çorbası (Turkish Red Lentil Soup)

Mercimek ÇorbasıSoup

Silky, sunshine-orange lentil soup finished with a sizzling mint-and-chilli butter that hits the bowl still spitting. Comforting, deeply savoury and ready in half an hour.

Total
40 min
Heat
2/5
Serves
4

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Flavour profile

Heat
Funk
Acid
Richness
Umami
  • Herby
  • Rich
  • Savoury
  • Silky

The real deal

Region
Turkey, a standard home, lokanta and restaurant soup eaten across the country.
Technique
Red lentils and potato simmered soft, blended completely smooth, then loosened with stock and finished with a sizzling mint-and-aleppo-pepper butter and a squeeze of lemon.
We kept
The two-stage finish is sacred: fully blended silky body, and the separate hot butter poured over at the table, never stirred in early.

Ingredients

4 Serves

soup

  • 250 g · rinsed until the water runs clear
  • 1 · finely chopped
  • 1 · peeled, diced
  • 2 · peeled, diced
  • 2 cloves · crushed
  • 1 tbsp
  • 1.2 l
  • 1 tsp
  • ½ tsp
  • 1 pinch
  • ½ tsp

finish

  • 40 g
  • 2 tbsp
  • 1 tsp
  • 1 tsp

serve

  • 1 · cut into wedges
  • 2 tbsp · optional · chopped

Method

  1. Finely chop the , peel and dice the and into small even cubes, and crush the . Small, even cubes mean the lentils and vegetables finish cooking together. Rinse the in a sieve under cold water until the water runs clear, then drain well. They don't need soaking, but rinsing off the surface starch keeps the soup from tasting muddy.

  2. Heat the 2 tbsp in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and garlic with a pinch of and cook for 5 min, stirring, until soft and translucent but not coloured. Sweating, not browning, keeps the soup's colour bright. Stir in the 1 tbsp , 1 tsp and ½ tsp and cook for 1 min, stirring constantly, until the paste darkens slightly and smells sweet instead of raw. This is what stops the soup tasting tinny.

  3. Add the lentils, the diced potato, 1.2 l and ½ tsp . Bring to a boil, then drop to low heat and simmer uncovered for 20 min, skimming any foam, until the lentils have collapsed and the potato mashes against the side of the pot with no resistance.

  4. Take the pot off the heat and blend until completely smooth, either with an immersion blender right in the pot or in batches in a jug blender. Mercimek çorbası should be silky with no trace of texture. If it's thicker than you'd drink with a spoon, loosen it with a splash more stock or hot water.

    If using a jug blender, never fill it more than half and vent the lid with a cloth: hot soup erupts.

  5. Melt the 40 g in a small pan over medium heat until it foams. Add the 1 tsp and 1 tsp . Swirl for 20 sec, until the butter smells of mint and turns rust-red and fragrant. Pull it off the heat before the mint goes black and bitter.

  6. Ladle the silky lentil soup into bowls, taste and adjust the salt, then pour the sizzling mint-chilli butter over each serving so it pools on the surface. Squeeze over at the table, scatter the if you like, and eat immediately.

    Serve the lemon on the side. That acidic hit is what makes the whole bowl taste alive, but squeeze it just before eating or the soup dulls.

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