Lentil soup is quintessential in Turkish cuisine. It is my go to soup whenever I am not sure what to cook. I basically grew up on this soup. I had it at home and at the school cafeteria growing up and at late night soup shops to fight off hangovers during college.

Lentil soup is my idea of cozy. It is my kind of comfort food. Whenever it is cold or rainy, whenever I feel a bit under the weather, I crave lentil soup. Lately, with the nonstop rain in Seattle, this variation of classic lentil soup brought much needed warmth to our bellies at home.

This soup is creamy with the added crunch of the chard stems. I like layering textures in soups. In this soup, the crunchiness of the chard stems is a nice surprise without taking away from the flavors. The chili oil drizzled at the end, ties everything together with a nice kick.

I learned the trick of adding chard stems to lentil soup from my mom. I grew up in a household where food is never wasted. My mom would make a dish with chards and she would save the stems for salads and soups. This is probably not the exact same soup she used to make but it is my take on her recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Yields: 6-8 servings Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)

1 1/2 cup red lentils

1 cup chopped chard stems

2 cups stock (if you don’t have stock, use 2 cups of water)

4 cups water

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

For the chili oil:

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons marash chili flakes (or red pepper flakes)

Preparation

1. Heat the olive oil in a pot over high heat.

2. Add the diced onions and cook over high heat, stirring a couple of times, for 2-3 minutes until the onions are translucent.

3. Rinse the lentils under cold water until the water runs clear. Add the lentils into the pot and give everything a stir.

4. Add in the cumin, salt and pepper.

5. Add in the stock and the water and give everything a stir.

6. Bring the soup to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the lentils are soft and cooked.

7. Reduce the heat to low and using a hand blender, blend the soup until creamy. If you don’t have a hand blender, you can use a smoothie blender too.

8. Add in the chopped chard stems and simmer the soup for another 5-7 minutes.

9. In the meantime, prepare the chili oil. Add the butter and the chili flakes to a small pot or saucepan and turn on the heat. Let the butter melt completely and let it bubble for a minute. The chili is going to give a red color to the melted butter.

10. Remove the hot chili oil from heat and pour on the soup. If you want you can save some to drizzle over individual servings as well.

Enjoy!

My immediate family is not big, it is just me, my younger brother, our parents, and our dog Buddy. My extended family, especially on my mom’s side, is much bigger. Mom and Tiya (my aunt) have lots of cousins with whom we spent many holidays, bayrams and family reunions. When family comes together, it is almost always around food. This is partly very Turkish and partly my family’s tradition. You never invite guests over and not serve them food. There has to be some kind of pastry or appetizer ready to be served with tea at all times. You also never go to someone else’s house empty handed. So naturally, a lot of family get togethers turn into potlucks. Everyone brings a dish and sometimes my mom, aunt and all the cousins coordinate who is bringing what to make sure there are no duplicates. Lentil kofte is one of the dishes that my mom likes to make often for these get togethers and it is loved by everyone.

Lentils are the magic ingredient. They can be cooked in many ways, from soups to salads to curries, and I think they provide the perfect stage for spices to shine. This lentil kofte recipe is a meatless, lentil and bulgur “ball” with herbs and spices. They are great to serve for large groups and always a crowd pleaser.

I don’t know why but I haven’t made lentil kofte in a long time. I think I tend to forget some Turkish foods because I am often not exposed to them here in Seattle. Also, I like to try my hand at cooking different cuisines as Cesar and I enjoy a wide variety of food. So when I finally made this recipe after a long time, I kind of broke the tradition and did not invite anyone over for tea. Instead, Cesar and I gobbled down half of it in a day, both for lunch and dinner and finished the rest the day after. But, sharing is caring right? I am sharing the recipe with you so you can bring it over for your next get together and impress your friends and family (or just keep it to yourself, I won’t judge you, I promise).

Yields: 6 servings Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

1 cup red lentil

3/4 cup fine grain bulgur*

1 large onion, grated and cooked (about 1 cup cooked)

1 tablespoon olive oil

Fresh dill, chopped (about 2 tablespoons)

Fresh parsley, chopped (about 1/4 cup)

2-3 scallions, chopped (about 1/3 cup)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon cumin

Lemon wedges for serving

Preparation

1. Thoroughly rinse the lentils in a strainer or colander under running water until the water is running clear and not murky.

2. Transfer lentils to a pot. Pour in 3 cups of water.

3. Over high-medium heat, bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes, until lentils are tender and no longer crunchy.

4. Put the bulgur in a large mixing bowl. Once the lentils are cooked, while still hot, add the cooked lentils to the mixing bowl with bulgur. Give everything a quick stir.

5. Cover the mixing bowl with a dish towel and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Bulgur is going to absorb the steam and the liquids from the lentils.

6. While the bulgur and lentils are resting, prepare the onions. Grate the onions with a grater or chopper. In small pan, over high-medium heat, cook the onions with olive oil for 3-5 minutes.

7. Uncover the mixing bowl. Add in the cooked onions, tomato paste, all the spices, chopped herbs and green onions. Mix everything until the ingredients are fully incorporated.

8. Take small chunks of the mixture, shape them like ellipses and transfer to a plate. Serve immediately or after refrigerating, with lemon wedges.

Note: Lentils go bad quickly if left at room temperature for a long time. If you are not going to serve this dish immediately store it in the fridge. It can be kept in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.

* Fine grain bulgur can be found in specialty grocery stores. I generally find it at stores that sell Middle Eastern or Indian ingredients. In the first picture below, I tried to show you the difference between coarse grain bulgur (on the left) and fine grain bulgur (on the right).

Lentil Soup with Chard Stems

Ingredients

Preparation

Lentil Kofte Balls

Ingredients

Preparation