Red Lentil Soup

1 cup red lentils, washed and drained
1 onion, chopped
1 small carrot, chopped
1 1/2 cubes beef bouillon
3 cups water

Garnish:
1 tbsp butter
Red pepper
Cayenne pepper

Place all the main ingredients in a medium-sized pot. Cook for about 20 minutes on medium-low heat. Then mix thorougly using a blender. If necessary (too thick), add more hot water. Pour into soup bowls using a ladle.Melt the butter in a small pan and add in the peppers. When it starts bubbling, pour over the soup. Serve Red Lentil Soup while still hot with fresh bread. Add a few drops of lemon juice to taste.

Green Lentil Soup

3/4 cup green lentils, soak in water overnight (don't boil or it will lose vitamins)

1 medium size onion, chopped

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

2-3 cup hot water

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

Garnish:

1 garlic clove, smashed with salt

4-5 tbsp wine vinegar with raspberry juice, or another type of vinegar

Sautee the onion with butter for 4-5 minutes in a medium-sized pot. Then add the flour, stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Pour in the hot water slowly, stirring constantly. Make sure the flour doesn't clump. Add in the washed and drained lentils, salt and cumin. Cook until the lentils are soft on medium heat. Stir occasionally. Taste it along the way and if necessary, add more salt or water. Pour the soup into your soup bowls with a ladle.Mix the garnish ingredients in a small bowl. Pour 1 tbsp of the garnish in each soup bowl. 4-5 servings.

Vegetable Soup

3 cups water + 1 cube chicken bouillon, or 3 cups chicken broth

1 medium carrot, grated

1 medium potato, grated

1 small celery root, grated

2 tbsp red lentil, washed

2 tbsp pearl barley

2 tbsp lemon juice

Salt

Cook the water, barley, lemon juice and salt on medium heat. In the meantime, prepare all the vegetables and lentils. Add them into the pot. Cook until all the ingredients soften. Serve while still hot. Adjust the water amount to your liking, I prefer to use less water.

* This is a vegetarian dish (just use 3 cups of water).

Fish Soup

250 gr small size fish, I use Smelt (frozen, cleaned)

1/2 lemon juice

1/2 tsp lemon zest

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Pepper

3 cups hot water

3 tomatoes, peeled and diced

1 celery stick, cut in bite sizes

2 medium onions, chopped

1 medium potato, cut in bite sizes

Garnish:

2 tbsp parsley, chopped

2 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped

4-5 slices of French baton bread

Cut off the heads of the fish and de-bone. Place them on a plate and sprinkle lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, salt and pepper on top. Put aside.In a medium sized pot, cook the onion, potato, celery and tomato with water on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes until the vegetables soften. Add the fish and cook for another 15 minutes. Turn the heat off when the fish are cooked and sprinkle parsley and oregano on top.Place a slice of bread on each plate. Pour one ladle of soup over each. Serve while still hot.But before you serve the soup, check if it needs more salt, pepper or lemon juice to your liking.If you can't find small fish (smelt), you can also use canned fish. Sardines go very well with this soup. Keep in mind that if you use canned fish, add the fish after cook all the vegetables as it won't need extra cooking time.One more tip is to keep the soup a little bit watery so that the bread will absorb the juice.

Tarhana Soup

2-3 tablespoonful tarhana dough (see below)

1/2 cup water

2 tbsp crushed tomato

2-3 cup chicken stock

Crushed red pepper, optional

1 tsp butter

Garnish:

Crumbled feta cheese

Place the tarhana and 1/2 cup water in a pot. Leave it alone for 1-2 hours for tarhana to dissolve a bit. Then add in the rest of the ingredients. Cook and stir constantly over medium-low heat. Adjust consistency of the soup to your liking by adding more water if you prefer. Taste for salt.Place the soup into a bowl, sprinkle some crumbled feta cheese on top and serve while still warm.Tarhana Soup is great for cold winter mornings as breakfast:)This recipe makes 2 servings.

Tarhana Dough

2 red bell peppers or long red peppers, discard the seeds, cut in chunks

2 medium sized onions, peeled, cut in chunks

2 large tomatoes, peeled, diced

1 3/4 cup yogurt, plain

7 gr yeast, melt in a little bit of warm water

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp dry mint

1 tbsp dry oregano

1 tbsp dill, dry or fresh, chopped

1 tbsp salt

7-8 cups flour (the amount of flour can be changed depending on the size of vegetables, add little by little)

Use the mixer to finely chop onions, tomatoes and red peppers. In a large bowl place the melted yeast, onions, tomatoes, red peppers, yogurt, mint, oregano, dill, olive oil and salt. Add flour gradually and knead until it becomes thick. During kneading add a few spoons of water in it.Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel. Leave it at room temperature to ferment, which takes 5-6 days. Knead the dough every day for about 4-5 minutes, then cover it with the towel every time. Your kitchen might smell a bit sour, which is normal. When the dough puffs up, the bowl might be too small for it, so divide the dough into two pieces and place in different bowls on the 2nd or 3rd day.It's the end of fermentation when the dough no longer puffs up. Divide them up and place them in Ziploc bags. Store in the freezer.If you like to keep it dry, divide the dough into small balls, place the pieces on a cloth and let them dry. Turn the balls often. Every day divide the balls into 2 or 3 pieces. It takes a few days. Best way to let it dry is outside under the sun. Then strained through a sieve - use your fingers to crumble. Or you can use the mixer as well. Store them in airtight containers in the fridge.

History of Tarhana

Tarhana is the first instant soup which was invented by Central Asian Turks. In the summer time they mixed fresh vegetables with yogurt to prepare their hearty winter soup. In Turkey, there are several varieties of tarhana. For example some regions use corn flour instead of white flour or they add chickpeas in it.The meaning of the word of Tarhana is not well known, however there's a story about it. Many centuries ago, the Sultan at the time was a guest at a poor peasant's house. There was only one thing that the peasant wife could offer to the Sultan. She boiled up the soup quickly, and she was embarrassed and said this is "dar hane" soup, which means "poor house". This "dar hane" soup eventually became known as "tarhana" soup. Also during the reign of the Ottoman empire Tarhana Soup entered Balkan cuisine like so many dishes of Turkish cuisine.

Tomato Soup with Flat Green Beans

500 gr tomatoes, peeled, cut in cubes

7-8 flat green beans, washed, cut off the tips, cut in 2 cm long chunks

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, smashed with salt

1 1/2 cup chicken stock or water

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp salt

Pepper for taste

Saute the onion with olive oil for 3-4 minutes in a pan. Add all the ingredients except the chicken stock. Stir, cover the lid and cook for about 20 minutes over low heat.Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil, then turn up the heat to medium-low. Cook another 20 minutes until the flat green beans fork tender.Sprinkle some chopped parsley on top and serve with Bread Slices with Garlic, and Kasar cheese or Mozzarella cheese.Bread Slices with Garlic and Kasar CheeseSlice a baton bread. Spread butter with garlic on top. Arrange Kasar or Mozzarella cheese slices on top and sprinkle some Cayenne pepper. Place the bread slices on the oven tray and set the oven to grill. Place the tray on the second rack from the top. Cook for about 3-4 minutes until the cheese melts and takes a light golden colour.

Chicken Soup with Rice

4 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup rice, washed, drained

1 chicken breast, diced

Salt

Pepper

Sauce:

2 egg yolks

3 tbsp lemon juice

Bring the chicken stock to boil. Add the rice, chicken pieces, salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Cover the lid and cook for about 30 minutes.In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks with lemon juice. Take a ladle of soup and blend well with the sauce. Slowly pour this mixture into the pan while stirring. Cover the lid and simmer for about 3-4 minutes.Before serving sprinkle chopped fresh parsley on top.* Don't boil the soup after adding the sauce, it may curdle.