Categories: Soup, Turkish, ethnic

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter (could also be olive oil - and reduce amount if using homemade stock!)
• 1 cup green onions, green part only, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed but left whole
• 1/2 cup diced tomatoes, drained
• 10 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup red lentils, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup fine bulgar
• 1/4 cup rice
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (and possibly more to taste at the end)
• 2 tablespoons dried mint
• black pepper, fresh ground to taste (about 30 short cranks)
• salt to taste (start with 1/2 teaspoon)
• lemon slices to squeeze into the soup when serving

Directions

1. Heat the butter in a large pot over high heat. Cook and stir the onion in the hot butter until it begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Stir the garlic into the onion and cook another 2 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes to the onion mixture; continue to cook and stir another 10 minutes. Fish out the garlic pieces.

2. Add the spices and cook for a minute: paprika, cayenne pepper, and mint to the tomato mixture; season with salt and black pepper. Add the tomato paste and cook for another minute. Finally add the lentils, rice and bulgar with the stock. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook at a simmer until the the lentils and rice are cooked through, about 30 minutes.

3. Pour the soup into a blender to no more than half full. Firmly hold the lid in place and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth; pour into your serving dish. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup in cooking pot.

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