Red Lentil and Mint Soup

I love almost all soup recipes made with red lentils. I found this wonderful recipe from a Turkish cooking blog site called Binnur's Turkish Cookbook, and had to try it.

It's a great cold winter soup type of recipe, which turned out wonderful. No changes that I could think of. Although I don't like the taste of mint too much, it complements this dish, so don't skip it.

I didn't use the blender as I like the texture, and instead used my handheld blender and gave it three of four pulses just to get some consistency of soup. Enjoy:)

RED LENTIL AND MINT SOUP

Ingredients:

1/2 cup red lentils, washed and drained
1/4 cup fine grain bulgur, washed and drained
1/4 cup rice, washed and drained
2 tbsp olive oil or butter
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/4 cup diced tomato, in a can
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 or 5 cups chicken stock
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tbsp dry mint
Salt Pepper
Garnish: 2 tbsp butter 1 tsp dry mint

Directions:
Saute the onion with olive oil for about 2 minutes, then add garlic and saute until you can smell of the garlic.

Add the diced tomatoes and saute for additional 10 minutes, until the tomatoes soften.

Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to boil, then turn the heat down to simmer.

Cook for about half an hour, stirring occasionally. If the soup is too thick, add a little bit more hot chicken stock or water.

Melt the butter in a small pan. Turn the heat off when butter begins to bubble. Add the dry mint and stir. Drizzle butter mixture onto the soup. Serve with lemon wedges.

Makes 4-6 servings

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