turkish red lentil soup with mint

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup diced tomatoes, drained
• 5 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup red lentils
• 1/4 cup fine bulgur
• 1/4 cup rice
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 tablespoon dried mint
• salt and ground black pepper to taste

Recipe

Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 45 mins Ready Time: 1 hr


• heat the olive oil in a large pot over high heat. cook and stir the onion in the hot oil until it begins to soften, about 2 minutes. stir the garlic into the onion and cook another 2 minutes. add the diced tomatoes to the onion mixture; continue to cook and stir another 10 minutes.
• pour in the chicken stock, red lentils, bulgur, rice, tomato paste, paprika, cayenne pepper, and mint to the tomato mixture; season with salt and black pepper. bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook at a simmer until the the lentils and rice are cooked through, about 30 minutes.
• pour the soup into a blender to no more than half full. firmly hold the lid in place and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. puree in batches until smooth; pour into your serving dish. alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup in cooking pot.