Mercimek Corbasi (Turkish Red Lentil Soup)
Silky, comforting and ready in half an hour, mercimek corbasi is Turkey's best-loved soup — red lentils simmered until creamy and finished with sizzling paprika butter and a squeeze of lemon.
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Ingredients
1.5 cups (300g) split red lentils, rinsed and drained
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, diced
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp ground cumin
1.5 litres hot water or chicken stock
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes (pul biber), for the sizzling butter
Lemon wedges, to serve
Instructions
- 1
Heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and carrot and cook for 5-6 minutes until softened but not browned.
- 2
Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, then add the tomato paste and cumin and stir for another minute until fragrant.
- 3
Add the rinsed lentils and pour in the hot water or stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover partially and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the lentils have completely broken down.
- 4
Blend the soup with a stick blender until silky smooth, adding a splash of hot water if it is thicker than you like. Season with salt and black pepper.
- 5
Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in a small pan, take it off the heat and stir in the pul biber so it sizzles and turns the butter red.
- 6
Ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle the paprika butter over the top and serve piping hot with lemon wedges and warm pide bread.
Ask anyone from Turkey to name the dish that tastes like home and mercimek corbasi will come up again and again. This humble red lentil soup opens meals in lokantas across the country, warms students on cold evenings and is the first thing many Turkish cooks learn to make. The magic is in its simplicity: split red lentils collapse into a naturally creamy base with nothing more than onion, carrot and a spoon of tomato paste.
The finishing touch is what makes it unmistakably Turkish — butter melted with sweet paprika or pul biber, spooned over each bowl so it blooms in red ribbons. Serve it with warm pide bread, lemon wedges on the side and a glass of black tea to follow.
Every ingredient below is a Turkish store-cupboard staple, and you can order them all from Turkish Online Market with delivery across the UK. A 1kg bag of split red lentils will see you through many pots of this soup.
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