Recipes

Red Lentil and Bulgur Soup with Chile–Mint Butter

  • Serves

    serves 6

This soup is finished with a flourish of mint-and-chile-infused butter.

Ingredients

  • 5 tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 34 tsp. cumin seeds
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp. tomato paste
  • 3 medium tomatoes, halved and grated, skins discarded
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup dried split red lentils (also called masoor dal), rinsed and drained
  • 13 cup coarse bulgur
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1 tbsp. dried mint leaves, crumbled with your fingers
  • 12 tsp. dried ground aleppo
  • Pepper or paprika

Instructions

Step 1

Melt 2 tbsp. butter in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add cumin, garlic, and onions and cook, stirring, until onions are soft, about 8 minutes. Increase heat to high, add tomato paste, and cook, stirring frequently, until color darkens, about 3 minutes. Add grated tomatoes and cook until mixture thickens slightly, about 3 minutes more. Add broth, lentils, bulgur, and 4 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until lentils are tender and soup has thickened, about 45 minutes. Season soup with salt and pepper; remove pan from heat, set aside, and cover.

Step 2

Meanwhile, melt remaining butter in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Remove pan from heat and stir in the mint and aleppo pepper. To serve, ladle soup into bowls and drizzle with chile-mint butter.

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