Ezogelin Çorbası — Turkish Red Lentil, Bulgur & Mint Soup

⏱ 45 min · Serves 4

The legendary Turkish bride's soup: silky red lentils thickened with bulgur and rice, warmed with paprika and dried mint sizzled in butter. Deeply comforting, cheap as anything, and ready in well under an hour.

Per serving: 425 kcal · 19.0g protein · 58.0g carbs · 13.0g fat

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 tsp Turkish red pepper paste (biber salçası), optional
• 200g red lentils, rinsed
• 40g coarse bulgur wheat
• 40g short-grain rice, rinsed
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp dried mint
• 1.4 litres chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 30g butter
• 1 tsp dried mint (for the butter)
• 1/2 tsp pul biber (Aleppo pepper) or chilli flakes
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• Crusty bread, to serve

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and cook the onion with a pinch of salt for 6–8 minutes until soft and golden at the edges.
2. Stir in the garlic, tomato purée and pepper paste and fry for 1–2 minutes until darkened and fragrant.
3. Add the lentils, bulgur, rice, paprika and the first 1/2 tsp dried mint. Stir to coat everything in the oil.
4. Pour in the stock, season with salt and pepper, bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer partially covered for 25–30 minutes, stirring now and then, until the lentils have collapsed and the rice is soft.
5. Blend briefly with a stick blender — just 3 or 4 pulses — so it thickens but keeps some grainy texture. Loosen with a splash of hot water if it's too thick.
6. Melt the butter in a small pan until foaming, take it off the heat and stir in the remaining dried mint and the pul biber; it should smell instantly toasty (don't let it burn).
7. Ladle the soup into bowls, spoon the red mint butter over the top and serve with lemon wedges to squeeze in and plenty of bread.