Name: Kurdish Red Lentil Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 3 Tbsp olive oil; 1 medium onion, chopped; 1 medium carrot, grated (optional); 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 35 g tomato paste; 15 g Turkish hot red pepper paste (or sweet pepper paste); 1 tsp sugar; 180 g red lentils; 1.2 l boiling water or light stock; Salt and pepper to taste; 3 Tbsp butter (for chili butter); 1 tsp pul biber (Aleppo pepper); 1 lemon, cut into wedges; Flat-leaf parsley, chopped (optional)

Kurdish Red Lentil Soup

Şorbeya Nîsk

Red lentil soup is a pan-Anatolian/Middle-Eastern staple rather than a distinctively Kurdish dish; the cited recipe is Turkish. The most everyday soup of the Kurdish kitchen, traditionally finished with somaq (sumac) and lemon and served with flatbread (nan). A classic first course of the Ramadan iftar. Some Kurdish versions use cumin and turmeric instead of pepper paste.

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Method

Heat oil in a pot; sauté onion and carrot 8-10 minutes until softened.
Add garlic, tomato paste, pepper paste and sugar; fry 1-2 minutes until aromatic, then stir in the lentils.
Add water, season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on low about 15 minutes until lentils break apart.
Blend with an immersion blender until smooth; rest off heat a few minutes.
Heat butter in a small pan until bubbling, then stir in the Aleppo pepper.
Serve warm topped with chili butter, parsley and a generous squeeze of lemon.