Üsküdar Ballot Soup

Ingredients

• 250 g red lentils
• 2 onions
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 carrots
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 red chili pepper
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1.2 l vegetable stock
• 1 lemon
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• salt and pepper
• 4 eggs
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• flat-leaf parsley, handful

Method

1. Finely chop the onions and garlic.
2. Dice the carrots and bell pepper.
3. Heat olive oil in a large pot and sauté onion, garlic, carrot, bell pepper, and chili for 5 minutes.
4. Add tomato paste and fry briefly.
5. Add lentils, cumin, paprika, and stock. Bring to a boil and simmer for 25 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, hard-boil the eggs for 8 minutes. Cool, peel, and halve them.
7. Roughly blend the soup with a stick blender. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
8. Pour the soup into bowls. Place a row of 2 halved eggs in the center of each bowl, like ballots. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Serving notes

• Serve with lemon wedges for extra tang.
• Sprinkle with extra cumin for more heat.