It’s summertime and it’s rather hot outside, but with the air conditioner running, it could be any time of the year, at all, indoors. Time for some soup!
Victor found a recipe for a Turkish red lentil Soup that sounded like the perfect dinner. A spicy red lentil soup drizzled with a spicy oil. How perfext!
Turkish Red Lentil Soup
INGREDIENTS
For the Soup:
- 1 cup red lentils
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1 heaping Tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried mint
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme or oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 cups water
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- salt, to taste
For the Paprika Oil:
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
INSTRUCTIONS
Pick through your lentils for any foreign debris, rinse them 2 or 3 times, drain, and set aside.
In a large pot over medium-high heat, sauté the olive oil and the onion with a pinch of salt for 3 minutes. Add the carrots and sauté for another 3 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and stir it around for around 1 minute. Now add the cumin, paprika, mint, thyme, black pepper, and red pepper and sauté for 10 seconds to bloom the spices. Immediately add the lentils, water, broth, and salt. Bring the soup to a boil.
After it has come to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover the pot halfway, and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the lentils have fallen apart and the carrots are completely cooked.
In the meanwhile make the paprika oil by swirling together the olive oil, paprika, and red pepper in a small sauce pan over medium heat. The moment you see the paprika starting to bubble, remove the pan from the heat. It’s done.
After the soup has cooked and the lentils are tender, blend the soup either in a blender or simply use a hand blender to reach the consistency you desire. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary.
Serve the soup with a drizzle of paprika oil, wedges of lemon, and extra mint and red pepper for everyone to customize to their taste.
While Victor made soup, I set my sights on a tomato galette
It’s a stellar year for tomatoes – they are just sooo flavorful – I doubt I will ever get my fill of them.
This was about the easiest thing to make in the history of easy things to make. I pulled the pie dough out of the freezer, but it’s really easy to make.
Tomato Galette
- 2 lbs heirloom tomatoes, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 4 oz mixed cheeses, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- salt & pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 400°. Gently toss tomatoes, garlic, and 1 tsp salt. Let sit 5 minutes (tomatoes will start releasing some liquid). Drain tomato mixture and transfer to paper towels.
Unwrap dough and roll out on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper to a 14″ round about 1/8″ thick.
Transfer on parchment to a baking sheet.
Scatter cheese over dough, leaving a 1½” border.
Arrange tomatoes and garlic over cheese.
Bring edges of dough up and over filling, overlapping as needed to create about a 1 1/2″ border.
Sprinkle tomatoes with sea salt and pepper. Chill in freezer 10 minutes.
Bake galette, rotating once, until crust is golden brown and cooked through, 55–65 minutes.
Let cool slightly on baking sheet.
Top with sun-dried tomatoes, if desired.
It was the perfect combination – soup and galette – and it really brought home the flavors of summer.