Turkish Recipe : Mercimek Corbasi

or better known in english as Red Lentil Soup.

Lentils are a turkish staple, everytime I go to someone's house for dinner we eat this soup - because it is good and easy to make.
At my house, we eat this soup at least once a week, it is perfect for when feeling a little under the weather or when looking for a filling soup. Usually goes perfect with a salad or köfte (little hamburgers) which I will post later in the week.

Red Lentils

This recipe is based off the recipe found here :
for the soup: makes 6 servings
1 cup red lentils
1 medium size onion - I usually grate the onion but finely chopped works well too
1 carrot - as with the onion I grate the carrot. if you don't like carrots you can substitute one small potato as well
1 tbsp tomato or pepper paste - Sauce biber or pepper paste is very difficult to come by in the usa so
1 tsp salt - I usually give my husband
4 cups of water

spices to add : mint, basil or paprika
--With a regular pot: Sautee the onion with 1 tbsp oil for 3-4 minutes. Add the paste and cook for a couple of minutes, and add the rest of the soup ingredients. Put everything for the soup in a big pot and cook on medium heat until the lentils are soft and mushy, for about 20-25 minutes.
Then enjoy!