adapted from: Soup Song and Portakalagaci.
Just the other day I'd purchased red lentils with the intention of making Turkish lentil soup. I'm feeling a bit under the weather (nothing big, don't worry, mom) and so I thought today would be a good day for making soup.
Tradition has it that this soup was made first (really, says my cynical side), by the most beautiful girl in all of Turkey.... or something like that and is now fed to brides before their wedding. Hence it's other name "Wedding Soup".
The traditional recipe uses bulgur, cracked wheat, but since I'm still 95%+ gluten free, I thought I'd substitute quinoa instead and it worked really well! I think it may require using a bit more water then I did, as the soup came out a bit thick and I ended up adding extra hot water at the end. The chicken stock I substituted in is a bit too flavorful, I think, so next time, I'll adjust that. But, overall, it's a good soup and it's definitely comfort food on a rainy, somewhat icky day.
Ezo Gelin Çorbası
makes about 6 cups
Melt 2 T of olive oil spread (one could use butter, oil, or another fat) in a large saucepan/soup pot on medium heat.
Finely chop 1/2 of a large onion and place in the fat, saute until nearly golden.
Add 1/2 tsp Paprika and stir.
Add a bare smidgen of hot red pepper flakes and stir.
Core one tomato and dice, smush it some as you dice it (you can also use tomato paste, but I didn't have any), add to the onion mixture and stir.
Rinse one teacup (British/American size) of red lentils. Pick out any bad lentils and dispose of them. Add the rest of the lentils to the onion mixture.
Add 1/2 teacup of quinoa to the onion mixture.
Add one cube of vegetable stock and several scoops of fat from a roast chicken (you know- the stuff that congeals in the bottom of the pan, I guess it's called drippings). Stir altogether and keep stirring for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, place water on to boil. Once the water boils, add 4-6 cups to the pot, stir and let the soup simmer on medium heat for the better part of an hour until it's thicker and creamy.
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