Kurdish Lentil Soup Food

TURKISH RED LENTIL SOUP WITH MINT

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over high heat. Cook and stir the onion in the hot oil until it begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Stir the garlic into the onion and cook another 2 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes to the onion mixture; continue to cook and stir another 10 minutes.
• Pour in the chicken stock, red lentils, bulgur, rice, tomato paste, paprika, cayenne pepper, and mint to the tomato mixture; season with salt and black pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook at a simmer until the the lentils and rice are cooked through, about 30 minutes.
• Pour the soup into a blender to no more than half full. Firmly hold the lid in place and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth; pour into your serving dish. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup in cooking pot.

MIDDLE EASTERN LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Heat oil in a pan and gently fry the chopped onions for 5 minutes.
• Add the chopped garlic, turmeric and cumin and continue cooking for a few minutes more.
• Stir in the lentils, add the stock and cook for 35 minutes. Stir several times during cooking, especially towards the end, to prevent lentils from sticking to base of pan.
• Toss in parsley, stir in lemon juice and leave to cook for 2-3 minutes more.
• No blending is necessary unless you want it really smooth.
• Serve with chunks of crusty bread.

TURKISH RED LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Place the red lentils in a colandar and rinse.
• Sift through to remove and debris or damaged beans.
• Place the washed and cleaned lentils into a medium pot with the stock, potatoes, onions and paprika.
• Bring the pot to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
• Loosely place a lid on the pot leaving slightly ajar as to allow some evaporation.
• Cook for 40-40 minutes until the lentils are tender.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Place all but 1 cup of the soup into a blender or food processor and blend briefly.
• Return blended soup to the pot with the reserved cup of soup.
• Heat through.
• Serve.

LEBANESE-STYLE RED LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Bring chicken stock and lentils to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic and onion, and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 3 minutes.
• Stir onions into the lentils and season with cumin and cayenne. Continue simmering until the lentils are tender, about 10 minutes.
• Carefully puree the soup in a standing blender, or with a stick blender until smooth. Stir in cilantro and lemon juice before serving.

KURDISH LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Put shelled yellow or red lentils in a medium heavy pot, and cover with cold water by 3 or 4 inches (about 10 cups).
• Bring to a quick boil, skimming froth as needed.
• Lower heat to low and let simmer, covered, until lentils are thoroughly cooked, about 30 minutes.
• For a creamy texture, whisk the mixture with a whip until smooth, a few minutes.
• Add salt, black pepper, curry powder, and broken vermicelli noodles.
• Stir well.
• Keep simmering and stir occasionally to prevent soup from sticking to the bottom of the pot until soup is nicely thickened, about 15 minutes.

TURKISH PEA SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan, then put in the bits of bacon and the pepper.
• Sauté for just a few seconds, then add the onion, celery and carrots.
• Cook until the onion goes clear, then add the tomato sauce and stir constantly for 1-2 minutes until the tomato sugars start to caramelise.
• Add the thyme, bay leaf and peas, plus salt and pepper to taste.
• Add 2-3 cups of water to cover the mixture.
• Stir, cover the pot and let it simmer over a low heat for about 20 minutes.
• Add another cup of water and let simmer, covered, for another 20 minutes.
• Keep checking on the pot and adding water a cup at a time until the peas are cooked and the soup is as thin or as thick as you like it.
• This takes about an hour, for me.
• Use a hand blender to blitz the soup slightly, but don't purée it.
• You still want some of the texture of the bacon and carrots.
• Remove the bay leaf and, if possible, let the soup sit for a few hours before serving to help the flavours develop.
• You may need to add some more water, salt and pepper when you re-heat it.
• If you like, you can crumble any extra bacon over the soup before serving, as well as a fresh grinding of pepper.

KURDISH SPICY LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Combine the lentils, wheat berries, chickpeas, and 2 quarts of water in a large pot.
• Cover, bring to a boil, and skim carefully.
• Add the vegetables, tomato paste, and hot peppers.
• Cook, covered, for 1 hour.
• Add the salt and cook 30 minutes longer, or until the chickpeas are fully cooked. Serves 6.