This classic Turkish-Eastern Mediterranean soup is the ultimate comfort dish.  This version started with Anya von Bremzen, a wonderful food writer and cookbook author who has an apartment in Istanbul.  Her good friend and cookbook author extraordinaire Melissa Clark adapted it for one of her many cookbooks, In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite. We’ve made a few more adaptations.
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon Aleppo or Maras pepper
1 large tomato, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 1/2 teaspoons dried mint
1 cup red lentils
1/4 cup bulgur, coarse or fine
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups water
Recipe adapted from Melissa Clark who adapted it from Anya von Bremzen, Oldways photo
Audrey Havenor says: While I had to tweak the recipe a little bit, this soup turned out quite well for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the taste of mint, and found this soup to have a healing aroma. I used chicken broth instead of stock, and I did not have a tomato for the recipe. So I simply used more tomato paste to make up for the lack of a tomato. I love the texture of the soup, but for those who really want a creamy taste I could foresee them running the finished product through a food processor or blender to create a smoother texture. Overall, I will definitely be using this recipe again!
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