Red Lentil, Bulgur and Mint Soup (recipe review)

[Guest guest]

Yesterday I tried this soup from the group files. I am a great fan of

Ezo Gelin, a Turkish lentil soup, of which this is one variation.

 

I found the spices to be out of balance for my taste - 2 tablespoons

of paprika is rather a lot and drowned out all of the other flavours.

Having made the soup I realised that I wasn't going to be able to eat

it. However, times are hard and I don't like to be beaten by

something I have cooked. So I sauteed one finely sliced stalk of

celery and one large potato, finely diced, added another 2 or 3 cups

of vegetable stock, about 2/3 cup of crushed tomatoes plus the juice

of half a lemon and then mixed the 2 concoctions together. The

resulting soup was actually very nice (and will probably last me all

week, LOL). If I make this recipe again, I would try using just 2

teaspoons of paprika. I wonder if it was a typo - I don't use paprika

often enough to be certain. Maybe a note to that effect could be

added to the recipe.

Christie

 

 

Here is the original post:

 

This thick, tasty soup was dinner tonite, along with a loaf of " The

Greatest Bread Machine Bread " from our files (which was delicious,

btw.

It gets a hearty recommendation from me.) I found the recipe at

www.globalgourmet.com and tweaked it slightly, so there was no meat

products, and also much less fat (the bf is counting cholesterol and

triglycerides.) We both liked it a lot, and will definitely make it

again. Its already in our " keeper " files.

 

(Apparently it's a traditional Turkish soup, commonly called " Bride's

Soup " , but I'm not clear on the origins of that.)

 

Red Lentil, Bulgur, and Mint Soup

 

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion , finely diced (about ¾ cup)

4 – 5 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped (about ½ cup)

2 tbsp paprika

½ tsp crushed red pepper (the original recipe called for Turkish red

pepper, which I didn't have)

½ tsp cayenne pepper

1 ½ cups red lentils, rinsed and picked over

¼ cup long grain white rice

6 cups vegetable stock or water (I used closer to 8 by the time I was

done)

¼ cup fine grain bulgur

1 tbsp dried mint

salt and freshly ground black pepper

plain bread croutons (optional)

lemon wedges

 

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, cooking

gently until softened by not brown (2 – 3 minutes). Stir in the tomato

paste, chopped tomato, paprika, red pepper, and cayenne. Add the

lentils, rice and stock. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and

simmer for 30 – 35 minutes, stirring occasionally until the rice is

cooked and the lentils have blended with the stock. Add the bulgur and

mint, and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes more,

stirring occasionally. If the soup is too thick add a little water.

 

Top each serving with croutons (optional) and a sprinkle of dried

mint.

Serve with lemon wedges.

 

The soup was thick and hearty, with a nice zip from the red pepper.

The

lemon added a nice tang. We had two bowls each for dinner, and there's

at least that much left for tomorrow.

 

(Note: this soup was supposed to be garnished with a drizzle made from

2 tbsp unsalted butter, 1 tsp dried mint, and ½ tsp paprika heated

together until it sizzles. I didn't really want more fat in the soup,

and found it quite tasty without this.

 

The original recipe called for 2 tbsp olive oil as well as 2 tbsp

unsalted clarified butter to sauté the onion and garlic. That was WAY

too much fat for my tastes, and too much cholesterol for the bf. I

substituted vegetable stock for the traditional chicken or beef, and

it

turned out just fine.)

[Guest guest]

Yikes! I never noticed the 2 TBS. of paprika.

I think you are correct and it is a typo.

I cannot imagine any soup or recipe requiring that

much! *lol*

I am just glad you were able to fix the recipe and

make it into something you could eat and not waste

the money it cost you to try the recipe.

I think I will go into the files now and edit this recipe.

Thanks for the review and notice.

 

~ PT ~

 

, " christie_0131 " <christie0131

wrote:

>

> Yesterday I tried this soup from the group files. I am a great fan of

> Ezo Gelin, a Turkish lentil soup, of which this is one variation.

>

> I found the spices to be out of balance for my taste - 2 tablespoons

> of paprika is rather a lot and drowned out all of the other flavours.

> Having made the soup I realised that I wasn't going to be able to eat

> it. However, times are hard and I don't like to be beaten by

> something I have cooked. So I sauteed one finely sliced stalk of

> celery and one large potato, finely diced, added another 2 or 3 cups

> of vegetable stock, about 2/3 cup of crushed tomatoes plus the juice

> of half a lemon and then mixed the 2 concoctions together. The

> resulting soup was actually very nice (and will probably last me all

> week, LOL). If I make this recipe again, I would try using just 2

> teaspoons of paprika. I wonder if it was a typo - I don't use paprika

> often enough to be certain. Maybe a note to that effect could be

> added to the recipe.

> Christie

>

>

> Here is the original post:

>

> This thick, tasty soup was dinner tonite, along with a loaf of " The

> Greatest Bread Machine Bread " from our files (which was delicious,

> btw.

> It gets a hearty recommendation from me.) I found the recipe at

> www.globalgourmet.com and tweaked it slightly, so there was no meat

> products, and also much less fat (the bf is counting cholesterol and

> triglycerides.) We both liked it a lot, and will definitely make it

> again. Its already in our " keeper " files.

>

> (Apparently it's a traditional Turkish soup, commonly called " Bride's

> Soup " , but I'm not clear on the origins of that.)

>

> Red Lentil, Bulgur, and Mint Soup

>

> 1 tbsp olive oil

> 1 onion , finely diced (about ¾ cup)

> 4 – 5 cloves garlic, minced

> 2 tbsp tomato paste

> 1 tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped (about ½ cup)

> 2 tbsp paprika

> ½ tsp crushed red pepper (the original recipe called for Turkish red

> pepper, which I didn't have)

> ½ tsp cayenne pepper

> 1 ½ cups red lentils, rinsed and picked over

> ¼ cup long grain white rice

> 6 cups vegetable stock or water (I used closer to 8 by the time I was

> done)

> ¼ cup fine grain bulgur

> 1 tbsp dried mint

> salt and freshly ground black pepper

> plain bread croutons (optional)

> lemon wedges

>

> Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, cooking

> gently until softened by not brown (2 – 3 minutes). Stir in the tomato

> paste, chopped tomato, paprika, red pepper, and cayenne. Add the

> lentils, rice and stock. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and

> simmer for 30 – 35 minutes, stirring occasionally until the rice is

> cooked and the lentils have blended with the stock. Add the bulgur and

> mint, and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes more,

> stirring occasionally. If the soup is too thick add a little water.

>

> Top each serving with croutons (optional) and a sprinkle of dried

> mint.

> Serve with lemon wedges.

>

> The soup was thick and hearty, with a nice zip from the red pepper.

> The

> lemon added a nice tang. We had two bowls each for dinner, and there's

> at least that much left for tomorrow.

>

> (Note: this soup was supposed to be garnished with a drizzle made from

> 2 tbsp unsalted butter, 1 tsp dried mint, and ½ tsp paprika heated

> together until it sizzles. I didn't really want more fat in the soup,

> and found it quite tasty without this.

>

> The original recipe called for 2 tbsp olive oil as well as 2 tbsp

> unsalted clarified butter to sauté the onion and garlic. That was WAY

> too much fat for my tastes, and too much cholesterol for the bf. I

> substituted vegetable stock for the traditional chicken or beef, and

> it

> turned out just fine.)

>