Soup Month's recipe of the week: Red lentil soup

We are officially in Soup Month, so let's kick start the first week of January with a staple of Turkish cuisine: Lentil soup.

There are so many variations of this recipe, with literally every family having their own unique twist on the classic. That being said, keep in mind that the following recipe is only one of many and feel free to change it up!

Ingredients:

75 grams of butter

1 onion

1 or 2 potatoes (optional)

150 gr lentils

2 tomatoes, tomato paste

Salt, pepper and other spices you like

Lemon (for serving)

Recipe:

Melt the butter (or olive oil if vegan) in a deep pot and chop up the onions before frying them until softened.

Add the two thinly chopped tomatoes and pour in about one liter of water.

When the water starts to boil, add the lentils careful not to close the lid completely, as lentils tend to overflow easily.

After 5-10 minutes add the chopped potatoes to the soup (optional)

Let the soup boil for around 20 minutes before turning the stove off, then, run the soup through a blender until puréed (optional).

Finishing touch: Melt in a little of butter and simmer with chili flakes or dried peppermint. Do this for around a minute but be careful it doesn't burn before adding to the soup, giving it one last stir. Serve with a good squeeze of lemon.

Tips:

*As mentioned, there are many different twists you can take on this recipe. For example, you don't need to blend the soup and can enjoy all the pieces of lentils and chopped potatoes.

*Instead of potatoes, you can also add rice or tiny noodles.

*You can swap plain water for chicken broth to add extra flavor.

*To make the soup extra smooth, you can also run it through a sieve after blending.