Mercimek corbasi (Turkish red lentil soup)

Vegetables

Peel the onion, carrot and potato and cut them into small dice.

Sauté

Heat 3 tbsp oil in a pot and cook the onion for 5 minutes until soft. Add the carrot, potato, tomato paste and cumin and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring.

Boiling

Rinse the lentils until the water runs clear and add them to the pot. Pour in 1.5 litres of hot water, bring to the boil, skim off the foam, then cover and simmer over low heat for 25 minutes until the lentils fall apart.

Puree

Season with salt and blitz the soup with a stick blender until smooth. If it's too thick, add a little hot water.

Start on low speed and keep the blender head submerged — hot soup splatters and can burn.

Mint oil

Warm the remaining oil in a small pan, take it off the heat and stir in the paprika and dried mint.

Serving

Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle with the mint oil. Cut the lemon into wedges and serve alongside for squeezing over at the table. Done!