Turkish Red Lentil Soup

Total Time: 40 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 quart vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon olive oil (can be left out i like it for the creaminess)
• 1 cup red lentil
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste (for a richer soup just use a whole 6-oz can)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons paprika (smoked for extra zing!)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 dash garlic powder (just one shake)
• 1 dash cayenne pepper (a few shakes)
• 2 bay leaves

Recipe

• 1 combine everything into a pot, and bring to a boil.
• 2 lower the heat, loosely cover the pot, and let simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils have completely softened.
• 3 let the soup cool for about 5-10 minutes (you can also cheat and just pop the pot in the fridge or freezer for a couple minutes while catching up on work and texting, like i did!).
• 4 pour the soup in a blender to puree it nicely.
• 5 after pureeing, i sometimes like to pop in a can of big beans like great northern beans, navy beans, cannellini, or butterbeans with a little fresh cilantro if i happen to have any on hand. these are found in piyaz, another delicious meze.
• 6 garnish with lemon and/or fresh mint, and serve with some delicious pitas, toasty turkish bread, or sigara bourek!