Bowl of Red Lentil & Bulghur Soup
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Red Lentil & Bulgur Soup


Turkey   -   Ezo Gelin Çorbasi
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 6 soup
***
1 hr
Yes		 This delicious soup, very popular in Turkey, is easy to make, and can be easily made vegetarian. For other versions, see our recipes Red Lentil & Mint Soup and Red Lentil & Wheat Soup.




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Red Lentils
Water
Butter
Olive Oil
Flour, allpurp
Mint, dried
Aleppo Pepper (1)
Ajika (2)
Stock
Bulgur, coarse (3)  
Salt
-- Garnish
Mint, fresh
-- Serve with
Lemon Wedges
Yogurt, plain

The one hassle is the purée step, pulling out, setting up, using, cleaning and putting away with the food processor, but nothing says you can't make it "peasant style" without puréeing.

Prep   -   (25 min - 7 min work)
  1. Wash LENTILS. Place in a saucepan with 2 cups Water and bring to a boil. Skim any foam that may rise to the surface. Set to a simmer until Lentils start to fall apart (15 to 20 minutes). Add water if needed to keep the Lentils submerged.
  2. Chop FRESH MINT for Garnish.
Run   -   (30 min)
  1. In a sauce pan of sufficient size for the whole recipe (3 quart is good), heat Butter and Olive Oil over low moderate heat. Stir in Flour, stirring until it is cooked and has formed a roux, then stir in the Mint and Aleppo Pepper.
  2. Stir in Ajika and stir vigorously for a minute to blend flavors.
  3. Slowly whip Stock into the Roux until it is all smooth, then stir in the rest
  4. Stir in the Lentils and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring now and then.
  5. Stir in Bulgur. Bring back to a simmer for another 5 minutes, stirring now and then to prevent sticking to the pan.
  6. Serve hot, garnished with Fresh Mint. Serve Lemon Wedges and Plain Yogurt on the side.   Note: for buffet service it's better to just stir in the Fresh Mint and a tablespoon of Lemon Juice, serving Yogurt on the side.
NOTES:

  1. Aleppo Pepper:

      This is a specially prepared Chili Flake, traditionally very mild and flavorful. I've recently seen "Aleppo Pepper Extra Hot", and though it isn't real hot by Southern California standards, I prefer to use the mild. Due to endless wars in Syria, most Aleppo pepper now comes from Turkey and some is produced in North America. It should be available in markets serving an Anatolian, Caucasian or Eastern Mediterranean community, or on-line.

  2. Ajika:

      The pattern recipe calls for 1 T of Turkish Red Pepper Paste (Kirmizi Biber Salçasi) plus 1 T Tomato Paste. Biber Salçasi is imperfectly available in most of North America, but Armenian Ajika is certainly available here in Southern California. Traditionally just Peppers, it is commercially made with Peppers and Tomatoes, so it covers both issues. I use Great Masis brand "Hot", which actually has very little heat.

  3. Stock:

      The pattern recipe calls for chicken stock, but if you want to make this vegetarian, use our Vegetable Stock or similar.

  4. Bulgur:

      This is parboiled and crushed wheat which cooks very fast, not cracked wheat. Medium Coarse is #3 and Coarse is #4.
  5. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove, in=inch, ar=as required, tt=to taste
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