Name: Red lentil soup with mushrooms
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: 1 cup red lentils, about 200 g; 6 cups hot water or stock, about 1.2 litres; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 medium onion, chopped; 1 carrot, diced; 1 small potato, diced, optional; it makes the soup creamier; 1 tbsp tomato paste, or half Turkish red pepper paste; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp salt; freshly ground black pepper; 250 g button mushrooms, thinly sliced; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 tbsp butter; 1 pinch salt; 2 tbsp butter; 1 tsp Turkish chilli flakes (pul biber); ½ tsp dried mint, optional; 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Red lentil soup, mercimek çorbası, is cooked in almost every Turkish home and served in every lokanta. Topped with crisp, golden fried mushrooms it becomes something a little special: the salty, browned edges add both texture and depth to the velvety soup.

The ratio is easy to remember: 1 cup (200 ml, about 200 g) of red lentils to 6 cups of water or stock. The potato is optional but makes the soup creamier.

Servings 6

Method

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Rinse the lentils in a sieve under cold running water until it runs clear. Chop the onion, carrot and potato if using; wipe the mushrooms clean and slice thinly.
~10 min
Heat the olive oil in a large pan and soften the onion over a medium heat for 4–5 minutes. Add the carrot and potato for 2 minutes, then stir in the tomato paste and cook for a minute until fragrant.
~7 min
Add the lentils, hot water or stock and cumin. Bring to the boil and skim off any foam, then lower the heat and simmer, lid ajar, for 20–25 minutes, stirring the bottom now and then, until the lentils have completely broken down and the vegetables are soft.
~20 min
While the soup simmers, fry the mushrooms: heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan over a high heat and spread the mushrooms in one layer. Cook for 7–8 minutes, turning occasionally, until their liquid has evaporated and they're golden at the edges, then season with salt.
~8 min
Take the soup off the heat and blend with a stick blender until smooth. Loosen with a little hot water if it's too thick, season with salt and pepper and bring back to a simmer for 2 minutes.
~3 min
Melt the butter in a small pan; when it foams, stir in the chilli flakes and mint if using, then take it off the heat at once so the chilli doesn't burn. Ladle the soup into bowls, top with the fried mushrooms, drizzle with the chilli butter and serve with lemon wedges.
~2 min

Enjoy!

The mushroom in this recipe

Button mushroom Agaricus bisporus

About this species Grow it at home Fresh mushrooms

Mushroom swaps

Chestnut mushroom Agaricus bisporusDarker and more aromatic; fry it the same way.
Oyster mushroom Pleurotus ostreatusTear into strips; it crisps faster, so 5 minutes is enough.
Shiitake Lentinula edodesRemove the stalks and slice the caps thinly for a smokier flavour.

Tips

Don't crowd the frying pan; mushrooms that aren't in a single layer will steam instead of browning.
Use vegetable stock and swap the butter for olive oil to make the whole dish plant-based.
Don't skip the lemon; a squeeze at the table brightens the lentils.

Storage

The soup, without the mushrooms, keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. It thickens as it stands, so add a splash of water and bring it back to the boil when reheating. Store the mushrooms separately and reheat them in a pan just before serving, as they go soft in the soup.

Read our guide to storing mushrooms →