Lokanta Usulü Süzme Mercimek Çorbası
Lokanta Usulü Süzme Mercimek Çorbası·(lo-kahn-tah oo-soo-loo sooz-meh mer-jee-mek chor-bah-suh)
Esnaf Lokantası at Home (The Tradesmen’s Lunch)
There is a lot of noise out there pretending to be authentic Turkish lentil soup. Internet recipes will tell you to chop potatoes, carrots, and onions like you are making a western stew. The masters at the esnaf lokantası—the bustling, blue-collar lunch counters of Istanbul—know better. Their secret is pure, unapologetic restraint: no vegetables. Just high-quality broth, yellow lentils, and a simple butter roux. It is liquid gold. It is the real deal, and because there is zero chopping involved, it is exactly what you need on a Tuesday night when you are tired, hungry, and just want something that tastes like the homeland.
Before you start
Purge the lentils.
Place the lentils in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse them thoroughly under cold water, rubbing gently with your fingers until the water runs completely clear to remove the excess surface starches that cause boil-overs.
Ingredients
- yellow lentils or split red lentils1 cup
- olive oil1 tbsp
- unsalted butter3 tbsp
- all-purpose flour1 tbsp
- ground turmeric1/4 tsp
- chicken broth or bone broth6 cup
- kosher salt1 tsp
- Aleppo pepper or mild red pepper flakes1 tsp
- dried mint1/2 tsp
- lemon1 med
Method
- 01
Build the meyane.
In a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter with the olive oil. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the raw smell is gone, making sure it remains pale and bubbly without taking on any brown color.
- 02
Simmer the soup.
Stir the washed lentils into the roux for 30 seconds, then pour in the broth and add the salt (and turmeric, if using). Bring to a rolling boil, skim off any rising white foam, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until the lentils fall apart into mush.
- 03
Strain for the signature texture.
Remove from the heat. For the true, breathtakingly silky restaurant texture, push the soup through a fine-mesh wire sieve with the back of a wooden spoon, discarding the hulls left behind. If you are slammed for time, pulse it carefully with an immersion blender—but do not over-blend, or the starches will sheer and turn the soup gummy.
- 04
Bloom the spiced butter.
Just before serving, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Let it foam, and just as it smells nutty and the foam subsides, pull it from the heat and immediately stir in the Aleppo pepper and mint.
- 05
Serve immediately.
Ladle the hot soup into bowls and drizzle the sizzling red butter over the top of each. Serve with lemon wedges; squeezing the lemon at the table is absolutely mandatory to cut the richness of the fat and brighten the earthy lentils.
Notes
The vegetable divide.
Adding root vegetables makes this a hearty home-style stew. Skipping them entirely and relying on the flour roux is the definitive secret to the sleek, authentic lokanta soup.
The golden cheat.
Authentic lokantas use yellow lentils for that glowing color. If you can only find standard split red lentils at your supermarket, a tiny pinch of turmeric will replicate the restaurant aesthetic perfectly without altering the flavor.
From Cook Turkish in America.