SOUP RECIPES: From Turkey or their neighbor Azerbaijan?

http://board.classifieds1000.com/Azerbaijan/Recipe...

This is sure to please anyone who likes Turkish cuisine. It is called "Red Lentil Soup"

Main Ingredients:

1. 2 Cups of red lentils.

2. 8-10 cups of water.

3. 1 stalk of celery finely chopped

4. 2 Medium sized white onions finely chopped.

5. 1 Medium carrot cubed or roughly chopped.

6. 1 Medium yellow (wax) patato cubed.

A handful of parsley finely minced.

Melted paprika butter glaze:

2 table spoons of organic butter /Optional (Can be substituted by olive oil or canola oil).

1 teaspoon of mild/spicy paprika.

Binding Agent (Optional): This is very similar to the French bechamel sauce which is equal parts flour and butter simmered in medium heat and later infused with chicken/beef/vegetable stock or just plain water. Use 2 table spoons of flour and 2tblspoons of butter for this soup and infuse with 3/4 of a cup of liquid of your choice mix it with an iron whisk to avoid clumps (the faster you whisk the better). Bring the soup and this thick sauce together at the end but before the paprika glaze.

How to Cook:

Put the ingredients 1 thru 6 in a large pot and keep the heat on high, until the soup starts boiling and bubbles form. When you see the bubbles, turn the heat low/medim and make sure to stir occasionally to avoid the forming of a crust in the bottom of the pan. Use a wooden spoon as this will not scratch the pan/pot. Keep under close supervision and stir as necessary until the soup developes a creamy consistency which means that the lentils would be all incoorporated and carrots, onions, celery, patatos also feel very soft and easy to break when poked with a fork. (You should reach this consistency in about 30 to 40 minutes). Now it is ok to turn the heat off. If you have a strainer it would be very handy to use it at this second. Place the strainer over another large empty pot and pour the soup into the strainer if the strainer is getting full and you still have more in the pot try and work it through with a spoon as much as you can. Whatever you have left ( I will call it the pulp of all the veggies) which is the pulp you can also make use of it by throwing it in a food processor (or you can hand blend the whole soup too, do whichever is convenient for you). I personally use the pulp and throw it in the food processor; make sure to add a little bit of the strained liquid that you just got into the food processor; this will make your job easier. Just blend for 30 seconds or so. When everything seems all smooth and blended in, you can pour the blended pulp into the strained liquid and mix with a spoon. It should have a pretty velvety texture to it. Let it cool and if you prefer mix in the bechamel sauce. The only extra step is if yo do mix in the beshamel sauce you would have to bring the soup back up to a boil and simmer for 3-4 minutes to make sure that the flour gets cooked all the way through.

The last and the most visually appealing part is the buttery paprika glaze (if you have not already stopped reading ;) lol). Melt the (2 tblspns) butter in a non-stick shallow pan (can be a small pan) on medium heat, do not let the butter brown up (this will make the glaze bitter and kinda yucky looking). Lower the heat if necessary; once the butter is melted sprinkle in the paprika evenly (do not dump it in on just one spot be gentle and have fun so sprinkle all over /the pan!) As soon as you see the paprika get infused in with the butter hurry up and remove the whole pan away from the burner! Depending on how you'd like to serve this soup either glaze it over the soup in the pot or if you want to impress your bf bring this glaze over to the table (and make it fresh the last minute because it will not taste the same if you just re-heat) and drizzle it all over his bowl (with the soup in the bowl) you can make a heart shape too if you are crafty enough. After this, it is up to you to dress it up or dress it down with fresh minced parsley flakes, freshly squeezed lemon juice. By now you should receive a sweet thank you kiss and a big hug or maybe more...

Afiyet Olsun (Means Bon Apetite in Turkish. Try and say: Aphee-yet All-soon).

2.5 teaspoons of salt.

i am so sorry i don't know any thing