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Traditional Turkish Red Lentil Soup

Try this super easy traditional Turkish red lentil soup (Mercİmek Çorbası) recipe as the perfect warming low-calorie lunch or appetiser for dinner.
5 from 3 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course Appetizer, Lunch, Soup
Cuisine Cypriot, Mediterranean, Turkish
Servings 5
Calories 297 kcal

Equipment

  • Large saucepan with lid
  • Lemon juicer
  • Hand blender

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Onion Chopped
  • 5 cloves Garlic Chopped
  • 1 tsp Olive oil
  • 3 small Lemons Juiced
  • 1.5 L Hot Water
  • 2 Chicken stock cubes
  • 300 g Red lentils
  • 75 g Bulgur wheat
  • 1 tsp Chilli flakes (Pul biber)
  • 3 tsp Salt (or to taste)
  • 1 tsp Pepper (or to taste)

Instructions
 

  • Sauté the chopped onion with the garlic using a dash of olive oil
  • Add one tsp of salt and pepper and the chilli flakes
  • Add half of the lemon juice
  • Add the lentils and bulgur
  • Add the hot water and stock cubes
  • Simmer on a low heat for 30 mins with the lid on.
  • Blend the soup to your desired consistency (I like mine totally smooth) and add more salt and lemon juice to your taste. I add another two tsp salt personally, but you should do it to your taste preference. Remember to add it in slowly. It's always easy to add more, but you can't take it away!

Notes

NUTRITIONAL VALUES (per serving)
Calories: 297
Protein: 17g
Carbohydrate: 49g (of which 2.2g sugars)
Fat: 3.1g (of which 0.7g saturates)
Fibre: 3.5g
 
MAKE IT YOUR OWN
This soup is really versatile and you can make it your own in lots of ways:
  • Swap the chicken stock for vegetable to make it vegan
  • Add 3 bay leaves while cooking for a more aromatic taste (but remember to remove them before blending!).
  • Add tomato purée or chopped tomatoes.
  • Add a teaspoon of cumin.
  • Add spinach for extra protein.
  • Add some diced carrot.
Shake it up (but maybe not all at the same time...)
Keyword Cypriot, Low Calorie, Mediterranean, Soup, Traditional, Turkish