Almost Turkish Recipes

Red Lentil and Beet Soup (Kırmızı Mercimekli Pancar Çorbası)

This deliciously colorful and healthy soup is known simply as the "pink" soup in our house, since I prefer not to disclose to my young and picky eaters all the vegetables that goes in this soup: ignorance is bliss sometimes. This red lentil and beet soup is a staple in our house. Beets go into the soup and beet greens into this recipe.



2 small to medium size beets, peeled and diced (If bought in a bunch, use stems and leaves as well, chopped)
1 small red onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup red lentils, washed
1 to 1 1/2 cups of chopped fresh tomatoes or 1 can diced tomato
1 red bell pepper or 3 red sweet Italian peppers, chopped
4-5 cups of water (or vegetable or chicken stock)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper

for decoration
White/feta cheese
parsley, finely chopped

-Put all the ingredients in a big pot and bring to boil.
-Once it boils, turn the heat down and simmer approximately for 20 minutes or until everything is thoroughly cooked.
-Smoothen the soup with a hand blender. (If you don't have a hand blender, chop everything tiny or grate everything before adding them into the pot.)
-Optional: Serve with chopped parsley and white cheese on top (I also like to add a dollop of yogurt) and/or white crusty bread.

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous8:37 PM

    This is delicious! I was really happy to find a new way to use red lentils! I improvised a little, using
    ingredients I had on hand: one fresh tomato instead of a 14 oz can, a small zucchini, rib of celery and a medium carrot, and some roasted jarred red peppers instead of fresh. The beets and greens were fresh from the Farmer’s Market and were the stars of the soup. A 1/2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce added depth.

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