Turkish lentil soup

                    

Lentil soup is a favourite in our house, in fact it may be the kids favourite soup. Whenever I am making soup they always ask me 'is it lentil soup?' They just love it! It is very easy to make and we have it often. In Turkey, my in laws eat this soup for breakfast but I prefer it as a starter or light lunch. I season it with mint, salt and pul biber. Pul biber is a Turkish spice which is like red pepper. It is quite spicy so you can add the amount you want depending on how spicy you like it. It is available from most international shops. If you don't have any, you could use chili flakes or paprika instead. Here is my recipe:

Ingredients

1 onion

1 carrot

1 potato 

cup of red lentils

dried mint

pul biber

salt

oil

lemon juice (optional)

Method

1) Chop onion and fry for a few minutes in oil, you don't have to chop any of the ingredients too small as the soup will be blended at the end.

2) Peel potato and carrot, slice and add to the pan.

3) Add the red lentils and stir.

4) Add enough boiling water to cover all the ingredients.

5) Add mint, pul biber and salt.

6) Leave to simmer for 30 minutes, check every so often to make sure there is enough water in the pan, you may need to add more to get the desires consistency. 

7) Remove from heat and blend.

This soup is delicious with freshly squeezed lemon juice on top and a sprinkling of some more pul biber. Hope you enjoy it!