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Mercimek — Turkish red lentil soup

Why it worksThe red paprika butter on top gives the soup its smell. Paprika stirred in earlier just tastes dusty.

Ingredients

• 250 g red lentils
• 200 g onions
• 200 g carrots
• 200 g potatoes
• 25 g butter
• 5 g paprika
• 4 g ground cumin
• 2 stock cubes
• 1 lemon
• 250 g bread

Method

1. Chop the onion, carrot and potato into small pieces.
2. Melt half the butter in a large pot on medium heat. Cook the vegetables for 8 minutes, until soft.
3. Add the red lentils, stock cubes, cumin and 1.4 litres of water. Let it bubble gently for 20 minutes, until everything is very soft.
4. Mash the soup until smooth with a potato masher or fork.
5. Melt the rest of the butter in a small pan with the paprika until it bubbles and turns red. Pour a little over each bowl. Serve with lemon to squeeze over and bread.

A portion: about 530 kcal · 23 g protein · 79 g carbs · 9 g fat