Turkish Red Lentil Soup

By The Mediterranean Dish · 30 min

Ingredients

Instructions

1. In a large Dutch oven or cooking pot, heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering.
2. Add the chopped onion, 2 of the minced garlic cloves, the chopped carrots and the diced potato. Season with a good pinch of kosher salt and cook, stirring now and then, until softened, about 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Stir in the tomato paste to coat the vegetables, then add the low-sodium vegetable broth, 1 teaspoon of the Aleppo pepper, the cumin and the coriander.
4. Add the red lentils and stir.
5. Bring the soup to a rolling boil for 4 to 5 minutes. Lower the heat, cover the pot with the lid left slightly open, and simmer on the lowest heat for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the lentils and vegetables are completely tender. Stir now and then, and if the soup gets too thick, add 1/2 to 1 cup more broth.
6. Remove the pot from the heat and blend the soup with an immersion blender until smooth and creamy. Alternatively, transfer it to a standard blender, let some steam escape, and blend in batches.
7. In a small skillet, warm 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper and the remaining 1 minced garlic clove and cook briefly, until the garlic is golden and the oil is red from the pepper. Take off the heat and pour the warm oil over the soup.
8. Serve with the lemon wedges on the side.

Summarized from The Mediterranean Dish's video. Watch it for the details.