I had a soup similar to this in a Turkish restaurant last month and really liked it. It was hearty yet healthy, it seemed inexpensive to make, and the mint added interest and depth of flavor. I found a similar recipe so I could make it at home
here.
I did make a few substitutions. First, I left out the onion since I didn't have any and used 4 times the garlic (4 cloves). Second, instead of the bulgur and rice, I used kamut, a grain that is said to have originated in Egypt. It's related to wheat, but the kernels are about twice the size, and kamut has more protein and amino acids than the bulgur/rice combination. Also, instead of red lentils, I used a colorful mixture I found of red, green, and beluga (black) lentils. I am pretty sure that with this recipe, you could use any combination of a variety of lentils and grains. Finally, after tasting the soup, I really felt like it needed a hint of spiciness (I left out the cayenne pepper in the recipe) so I added a few grounds of red pepper flakes from our red pepper flake mill and it was much better.
The soup turned out nicely. It was very similar to what I had in the restaurant, except I think that the restaurant may have used bulgur and potato rather than bulgur/rice or kamut. It was hard to tell because the whole soup was pureed. The kamut was really good though, because it maintained a lot of its slightly chewy texture even after being blended. I like that the soup makes a complete healthy meal from the protein, fiber, and complex carbohydrates in the lentils and grains.
Ok, you all are probably pretty tired of soups by now, what with my three consecutive soup posts in roughly one week. I am just excited because I haven't really made a lot of soups before, but I will stop now and post about some other things in the near future.
I had a soup similar to this in a Turkish restaurant last month and really liked it. It was hearty yet healthy, it seemed inexpensive to make, and the mint added interest and depth of flavor. I found a similar recipe so I could make it at home here.
I did make a few substitutions. First, I left out the onion since I didn't have any and used 4 times the garlic (4 cloves). Second, instead of the bulgur and rice, I used kamut, a grain that is said to have originated in Egypt. It's related to wheat, but the kernels are about twice the size, and kamut has more protein and amino acids than the bulgur/rice combination. Also, instead of red lentils, I used a colorful mixture I found of red, green, and beluga (black) lentils. I am pretty sure that with this recipe, you could use any combination of a variety of lentils and grains. Finally, after tasting the soup, I really felt like it needed a hint of spiciness (I left out the cayenne pepper in the recipe) so I added a few grounds of red pepper flakes from our red pepper flake mill and it was much better.
The soup turned out nicely. It was very similar to what I had in the restaurant, except I think that the restaurant may have used bulgur and potato rather than bulgur/rice or kamut. It was hard to tell because the whole soup was pureed. The kamut was really good though, because it maintained a lot of its slightly chewy texture even after being blended. I like that the soup makes a complete healthy meal from the protein, fiber, and complex carbohydrates in the lentils and grains.
Ok, you all are probably pretty tired of soups by now, what with my three consecutive soup posts in roughly one week. I am just excited because I haven't really made a lot of soups before, but I will stop now and post about some other things in the near future.
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