I got invited by u/JanuaryThruDecember to share my recipe here.
First of all, let me say that this is MY take on the traditional Turkish red lentil soup, or at least what I believe to be the traditional.
For context: i’m from the Canary Islands (Spain) and the first time I had Mercimek Çorbası was in Germany, where I fell in love with it. Inside of Berlin I tried a wide variety of them.
The biggest **twist** I’ve done is **leaving out the potato and including bell pepper.** Otherwise my recipe pretty much resembles any other recipe I’ve seen around.
# INGREDIENTS:
-**Soup**: 2 carrots, red pepper, green pepper, onion, (1/3 of a leek), tomato paste, red lentils (150-250 gr.)
-**Vegetables for the stock:** some leek, a celery stick, the outer layer of the onion, the peppers leftovers, carrot leftovers
-**Seasonings**: thyme, cumin, paprika, turmeric
-**Seasonings for the stock**: bay leaves, rosmary and lemongrass
-**For presentation**: lemon, crushed dry mint
*Disclaimer: *once again, this is my take on the dish. This is not the traditional recipe and I added ingredients based on my own taste. Hopefully nobody’s eyes start bleeding in Turkey* (*or should I start using* ***Türkiye?***)
# INSTRUCTIONS:
-I always begin with preparing my mise en place; so in this case I started preparing the vegetables and a stock.
The real game changer is the stock, to make it: take a pot, fill it with water and add things that are usually wasted (carrot skin, the white part of the bell peppers, pepper seeds, onion…just make sure everything is clean and earth-free before tossing into the water). Tonight I used: carrot, celery, pepper, onion, leek and I used dry lemongrass, bay leaves and a bit of rosmary as aromatics.
-Take a pot and add oil (olive oil but I used sunflower instead), then add onion at medium-high heat. When you get the desired color proceed to add minced garlic (and why not, ginger). At this point you can add some tomato paste.
-After the previous ingredients are cooked, add carrot and then the bell pepper (I used a red and a green one). All of this is pretty much the base of the whole soup, quite simple. Time for seasoning; my choice: thyme, cumin, paprika, turmeric, salt and pepper. Also a bit of powdered mango, I felt like experimenting a bit; turned out great!
-At this point, add the previously washed red lentils and let them get all the flavor from the other components in the pot while stirring. After 4-5 min. add the vegetable stock until everything is covered and **badaboom**, in about 20-30 minutes at medium heat you should have an amazing soup. Just make sure to blend it. Too thick? Add stock.
-Final step: enjoy! It usually is served with a lemon slice, squeeze into the soup and enjoy. Also, some places gave you the possibility to add chili flakes or dry mint, I chose the latter.
alwaysrunningerrands on
Looks really good! And the recipe is healthy too.
misschzburger on
I love mercimek..
MarioRex on
Slice of lemon with that colorful bowl brings a smile to my face. Such a happy looking mix.
5 Comments
I got invited by u/JanuaryThruDecember to share my recipe here.
First of all, let me say that this is MY take on the traditional Turkish red lentil soup, or at least what I believe to be the traditional.
For context: i’m from the Canary Islands (Spain) and the first time I had Mercimek Çorbası was in Germany, where I fell in love with it. Inside of Berlin I tried a wide variety of them.
The biggest **twist** I’ve done is **leaving out the potato and including bell pepper.** Otherwise my recipe pretty much resembles any other recipe I’ve seen around.
# INGREDIENTS:
-**Soup**: 2 carrots, red pepper, green pepper, onion, (1/3 of a leek), tomato paste, red lentils (150-250 gr.)
-**Vegetables for the stock:** some leek, a celery stick, the outer layer of the onion, the peppers leftovers, carrot leftovers
-**Seasonings**: thyme, cumin, paprika, turmeric
-**Seasonings for the stock**: bay leaves, rosmary and lemongrass
-**For presentation**: lemon, crushed dry mint
*Disclaimer: *once again, this is my take on the dish. This is not the traditional recipe and I added ingredients based on my own taste. Hopefully nobody’s eyes start bleeding in Turkey* (*or should I start using* ***Türkiye?***)
# INSTRUCTIONS:
-I always begin with preparing my mise en place; so in this case I started preparing the vegetables and a stock.
The real game changer is the stock, to make it: take a pot, fill it with water and add things that are usually wasted (carrot skin, the white part of the bell peppers, pepper seeds, onion…just make sure everything is clean and earth-free before tossing into the water). Tonight I used: carrot, celery, pepper, onion, leek and I used dry lemongrass, bay leaves and a bit of rosmary as aromatics.
-Take a pot and add oil (olive oil but I used sunflower instead), then add onion at medium-high heat. When you get the desired color proceed to add minced garlic (and why not, ginger). At this point you can add some tomato paste.
-After the previous ingredients are cooked, add carrot and then the bell pepper (I used a red and a green one). All of this is pretty much the base of the whole soup, quite simple. Time for seasoning; my choice: thyme, cumin, paprika, turmeric, salt and pepper. Also a bit of powdered mango, I felt like experimenting a bit; turned out great!
-At this point, add the previously washed red lentils and let them get all the flavor from the other components in the pot while stirring. After 4-5 min. add the vegetable stock until everything is covered and **badaboom**, in about 20-30 minutes at medium heat you should have an amazing soup. Just make sure to blend it. Too thick? Add stock.
-Final step: enjoy! It usually is served with a lemon slice, squeeze into the soup and enjoy. Also, some places gave you the possibility to add chili flakes or dry mint, I chose the latter.
Looks really good! And the recipe is healthy too.
I love mercimek..
Slice of lemon with that colorful bowl brings a smile to my face. Such a happy looking mix.
wow! looks amazing