Mercimek Çorbasi (Lentil Soup)

The secret of this aromatic lentil soup is in the modern method. Generally lentil soups, from the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans to the time of the aristocratic French and Italians, were slow-cooked, the lentils allowed to dissolve slowly into the liquid. In Turkey, as we discovered during a visit to Bekir Tezçakar at his cafe in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, they blend the ingredients into a purée to create a creamy soup.