Mercimek çorbası is a lentil soup that you may be familiar with from Turkish restaurants. Prouncounced 'mehr-jee-mek chor-bah-suh', it's very nutritious and the version made in Turkey often includes tomato paste, garlic, paprika and pul biber to give it a rich flavour and a touch of heat.
These ingredients are not used in the Cypriot mercimek çorbası, where a generous helping of lemon juice is added instead, giving it a fresh tangy kick. Ground black pepper is also used for a comforting warmth, with a sprinkling of rice added to thicken the soup.
As we use a lot of lemon juice in our recipe, you may wish to start with 50ml of lemon juice initially and see how you like it before adding more. You can also dial up the ground black pepper up or down to give more or less warmth.
Putting the soup through a food processor makes it smooth and silky to eat (which is often the way it is served in restaurants). However, we prefer to make it without processing, for more of a hearty, filling soup, and is how it is made for this recipe.
Mercimek çorbası is best served with freshly made croutons for a crunchy texture and buttery flavour. However, fresh Turkish bread is also great on the side and serving with sliced lemons gives everyone the option to add more lemon juice while eating.
Using split red lentils and medium grain white rice (rather than long grain) ensures the soup cooks and thickens quickly. Finely grated carrot can also be added for a sweeter variation. You can use vegetable rather than chicken stock to make the dish vegan.
Serves 4 to 6 | Preparation time: 5 minutes | Cooking time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
For the soup | |
300g split red lentils, washed well and strained | 50g medium grain white rice, washed well and strained |
1 medium onion, finely chopped | 100ml lemon juice, or as desired |
½ tsp salt, or as desired | ½ tsp ground black pepper |
1 chicken or vegetable stock cube | 2L hot water |
Sunflower oil | |
For the croutons | |
2-3 thick slices of white sourdough bread | Sunflower oil |
To serve | |
1-2 lemons, cut into wedges | Turkish bread |
Hob heat settings
Method
For the soup
Add a little sunflower oil to a large saucepan and fry the onions on medium-high heat until softened - about 5-10 minutes.
Add a little more sunflower oil, the lentils and stock cube and fry for 2-3 minutes more, while continuously stirring and breaking up the stock cube with the back of a spoon. The lentils should get lighter in colour as you fry them. (Frying the lentils at this step helps the soup cook more quickly.)
Add the hot water, salt and ground black pepper, and simmer while loosely covered for 15-20 minutes, or until the lentils start to break apart. Add the rice and lemon juice and continue to simmer for 15-20 minutes more, or until the rice has cooked and soup thickens. Stir occasionally throughout cooking and top up with more hot water if necessary (but the aim is to get a thick soup).
Serve with freshly made croutons (see below) and lemon wedges on the side, along with Turkish bread.
For the croutons
While the soup is cooking, cut the sliced bread into 1-2 cm cubes.
Add enough sunflower oil to a small saucepan to be 0.5 cm deep and place on a high heat. Fry the bread in batches, stirring occasionally with a slotted spoon, until brown and crispy all over.
Drain the croutons well when removing and place in a bowl lined with kitchen paper towels to absorb the excess oil.