Lentil Soup

Lentil soup is quite possibly the oldest continuously prepared dish on earth. Lentils are one of the earliest domesticated crops — cultivated in the Fertile Crescent (which encompasses modern Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon) for at least 9,000 years. The Bible's "mess of pottage" for which Esau sold his birthright is understood by food historians to be a lentil soup very similar to what is still served today.

Turkish mercimek çorbası (red lentil soup) has been a staple of Anatolian life from the earliest Ottoman records through to the present day. It is the soup served at every Turkish family table, at roadside restaurants, at school canteens, and on trains. The red lentil is used because it dissolves completely during cooking, creating a thick, smooth, naturally creamy soup without any need for dairy. The finishing drizzle of butter with red pepper and dried mint is added tableside.

Our lentil soup follows the traditional method: red lentils cooked with onion, carrot, cumin, and tomato paste until thick and smooth, then seasoned and served with warm Turkish bread. It is the dish that represents nine thousand years of Anatolian agriculture and cooking in a single bowl.