Mercimek Corbasi

Mercimek corbasi is a Turkish soup made with red lentils and is fairly thick and spicy. Either mint leaves (as shown below) or lemons work well as a garnish. Traditionally, it's not served with lamb. It was included for this recipe however, and was a worthwhile addition, since it made the soup much heartier.

Prep. Time: 10 mins.
Cooking Time: 1 hr.


Ingredients:

2 Medium Onions
2 Medium Carrots
2 Medium Potatoes
2 Cups Red Lentils
12 Cups Chicken or Vegetable Broth
2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
2 tsp Cumin
2 tsp Black Pepper
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Flour
3 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp Dried Mint
2-3 Lemons
1 lb. Cubed Lamb (optional)



Directions:

Chop the onions and finely dice the potatoes and carrots.

Saute the onions and olive oil in a large pot until they become translucent.

Add the carrots, potatoes and red lentils and cook for 3 minutes.

To this mixture, add the broth, cumin, red pepper flakes and black pepper.

Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 mins.

While the soup is simmering, saute the lamb in a frying pan with olive oil for approximately 10 mins. (optional).

Once the soup is done cooking, add the butter and flour.

Pour the soup into a blender and mix well. Depending on the quantity of soup you've made, this may need to be done in stages.

Pour the mashed soup back into the original pot and place back on high heat for 5 minutes.

Serve garnished with dried mint and lemon (optional).