Issue #194: Turkish Lentil Soup
Exhausted in New Jersey, Butcher Shop and Bass, A Memorable Soup
Back in 1997, when my sister Carrie’s cookbook The Naturally Sweet Baker was published, I helped organize a small book tour to help promote it. At the end of a long, tiring day of demos and signings in suburban bookstores and grocers, we ended up for dinner at a favorite Turkish restaurant in Union City, New Jersey. In those days, on the rare occasion I had a rental car, I’d often make a beeline to the restaurant.
Opened in 1981, Beyti Kebab claims to be the first Turkish restaurant in the United States. By the time I discovered it in the early 1990s, there were a couple of other Turkish restaurants in the same Union City enclave. I tried them all, but kept coming back to Beyti.
To say the restaurant had no ambiance would be an understatement. There was a butcher shop in front—always a good sign—and a stark restaurant with large round tables under harsh fluorescent lights in back. Off one corner was a party room that often had a DJ blaring music with such a rattling bass you could feel the tables shake. This didn’t stop my future restaurateur friends Karen and Dano from having the reception for the christening of their child Sophia there (before we met). The food was that good.
On that night in 1997 when Carrie and I were tired but hungry, the restaurant was almost empty. It was early. The music in the party room was already pounding. I ordered a couple of favorite dishes—a lamb doner kebab “yogurtlu,” shavings of minced lamb served over butter-toasted pieces of bread in a pool of rich yogurt with tomato sauce and a bowl of lentil soup—to come all at once. We agreed to eat quickly and head home.
The soup came. I squeezed a lemon wedge into the bowl. Mustering all the energy she had left, Carrie lifted her spoon to taste it and slouched back in her chair, seemingly unmoved.
—“How was it?” I asked.
—“I think it’s the best soup I’ve ever had.”
This is my version of that lentil soup. Most recipes for lentil soup look the same, no matter the culture. I can’t tell you for certain why this Turkish one, kirmizi mercimek çorbasi, is better. It might be the cumin. Or it could be the texture after it’s puréed. Maybe it’s just the memory. But it’s a very good soup. It also very forgiving. Use ingredients you have on hand. It’s a perfect foil for these chilly, late-winter days.
RECIPE: Turkish Lentil Soup
Makes 6 to 8 servings
1 2/3 cups (300g) small red or yellow lentils
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion
Salt
3 large cloves garlic, chopped, plus an additional clove, thinly sliced
2 medium carrots, diced
1 tablespoon Turkish pepper paste (biber salçasi), or Korean gochujang, or tomato paste and a dash of a favorite chili sauce
2 tablespoons (about 30g) uncooked white rice, or a chunk of white potato, peeled and diced
6 to 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock, or water
1 tablespoon toasted, ground cumin
1 bay leaf
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Aleppo, Urfa, Espelette, or generic red chili flakes
Lemon wedges
Pick over the lentils to be sure there are no stones. Rinse and drain well. In a medium-sized pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sauté until wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and carrots and cook another 5 minutes or so. Add the pepper paste or alternative and cook, stirring, another minute or two more. Add the rice or potato. Add the rinsed lentils and six cups of the broth to cover. Add the ground cumin and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 30 minutes, until the lentils have exploded.
Remove the bay leaf. If very thick, thin down the soup a little with the additoinal broth. Transfer the soup to a strong blender. (I use my magic Vitamix.) Purée until smooth, adding more stock or water to adjust the consistency to a creamy soup. Return the soup to the pot. Bring back to a simmer. Season with black pepper and additional salt.
To serve, in a small frying pan heat the butter or additional olive oil. Add the sliced garlic and chili flakes and let fry to infuse for a minute or so. Divide the hot soup among bowls and drizzle with the garlic-pepper butter. Serve with lemon wedges on the side.