You can talk for a long time about the health benefits of lentils . The most beautiful and popular dish prepared from it is lentil soup. And the secrets of its preparation will be revealed below.
Classic lentil soup, it's a chowder
Now many culinary publications offer a choice of lentil soups. But still there is a classic recipe, for the preparation of which you will need the simplest set of products, namely:
- lentils - one glass, or 200 grams;
- garlic - 3 cloves;
- herbs - if the season, it is better to fresh (parsley, marjoram, dill), if not - it is better to make a collection of dried;
- water - 4 cups, or liter;
- salt and vinegar.
The cooking process is very simple. It is enough to carefully sort, rinse and towel dry the lentils. Then put it in a pan and pour water. For those who prefer to cook soups in a slow cooker, the proportions of water and lentils should be changed. Pour it in relation: one part of lentils to three parts of water.
It should be boiled until soft. Unlike its relatives (peas and beans), it cooks much faster. In this case, it takes about 50 minutes. And for a slow cooker you should prefer the "Extinguishing" mode - one hour. When the lentils are ready, garlic should be added to it. To give the soup a more piquant aroma and taste, garlic should be finely chopped or passed through a press. After that, lentil soup is seasoned with herbs and salt with vinegar. The classic lentil stew is ready.
It is worth noting that most recipes suggest including tomatoes, ground pepper and cumin in this soup. In addition, to give it a milder taste, you can add a little butter.
Lentil Soup
It differs from the classic lentil soup with its “brother” - soup puree. The composition of its ingredients is much wider and includes:
- lentils - 1 cup;
- red bell pepper, large tomato and the same onion;
- 5 glasses of water;
- spices - salt and red (this is important) ground hot pepper;
- any preferred smoked meats, but sausages are best.
In this recipe, the start of cooking involves frying. To do this, all vegetables are peeled and cut into small slices. Then, in a well-heated frying pan with the addition of vegetable oil, they are fried until light golden color. As soon as the vegetables have reached the required state, the whole lentil goes to them. If you noticed, the color of vegetables and spices is red, so lentils are best preferred in the same shade, but at the moment this is not fundamental. Cooking vegetables with lentils should be only 15 minutes, adding every three to four minutes in a spoonful of water.
Next, the whole mixture must be transferred to the pan and pour the remaining water. The cooking process takes the same amount of time as frying.
Then, using a blender, grind lentil soup in mashed potatoes, add spices, and when serving, decorate with chopped smoked meats.
Tip : if there is no blender, then you can grind the resulting dish with a sieve. The process, of course, is laborious, but the result is worth it.
Turkish lentil soup
But in Turkey, this soup is elevated to the rank of the most beloved in cold weather. It is served on holidays and even at the wedding table. There are many cooking options, but Mercury's recipe is outlined here.
Turkish lentil soup is prepared from:
- red lentils - one glass;
- onions (2 heads), one carrot and one potato;
- spices - salt, hot red pepper and three cloves of garlic;
- three tablespoons of tomato paste (but it is better to replace mashed potatoes with 4 tomatoes);
- 1.5 liters of water.
The cooking process is as follows: in a pan, fry the onion chopped into cubes, and then add to it in strict sequence: chopped garlic, hot pepper and grated carrots. Let the mixture brew for five minutes and add the tomato paste and lentils. While constantly stirring, pour a glass of water. As soon as the lentil mixture absorbs water, add the remaining amount of liquid and chopped potatoes. Cook until lentils are cooked.
Once the soup has cooked, grind it with a blender. The resulting mixture should again be sent to cook for fifteen minutes. And the lentil soup puree, made according to the Turkish recipe, is ready.
Bon Appetit!