Recipes

In Turkey, this is seen as a "go-to" dish when there are unexpected guests as it can be thinned to serve more people. Also, when earing, folks like to break up day-old (or older) bread then pour the soup over top adding lemon juice and pul biber or some sort of spicey pepper blend for a more filling appetizer. In Jordan, folks do the same thing, only using their Arabic bread, which we know as pita.

Total time needed: 1 hour
Ingredients
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 T butter or olive oil (or one of each)
• 1 heaping teaspoon tomato paste
• 1 c red lentils, rinsed well
• 4-5 c water
• 1 t salt
• ½ t black pepper
• 1 t cumin
• 1 Magi chicken bouillon cube (Knorr or other brand)
• 1 T rice
(Optional: Aleppo Pepper, lemon juice)

Instructions
1. In cooking pot, heat oil (or butter) on medium heat. Add chopped onions and 
sauté until translucent. Add lentils and stir. Then add tomato paste and stir well.

2. Add water, salt, pepper, cumin, bouillon and rice. Cook at low boil for 20 minutes, stirring regularly. Then let simmer 20 minutes or until everything soft.

3. Puree with an immersion blender or a regular blender (be careful though with the hot liquid). Taste it. If you want more salt and/or pepper, add it. If you want another bouillon cube, add it. Want more cumin? Add it.

4. Allow soup to simmer another 10 minutes.

When serving, garnish with the Aleppo pepper and offer fresh lemon juice.