I am little nervous every time I am cooking something new for somebody new. Which happens all the time. Because I think it is boring to cook the same thing over and over again. And I always find new hungry people to feed. My nervousness grows as I cook in different settings too: what works at the professional kitchen of Zeliha Hanım in Sapanca may not suit my home kitchen in Istanbul. So every time I keep thinking: Will the recipe (that I tested five times in other settings) work? Will people (who approved on many other occasions) like the dish?
I feel the same about my Istanbul food walking tours. I have a program that I have delivered about a hundred times. Great customer feedback serves as a solid proof of my capability. Yet I am so anxious, that before every tour I spend my morning commute walking the walk in my mind. It is just like putting a dish you made on the table and waiting for the comments with a sinking heart.. How can you be sure? Every customer, every tour is different. Today we start earlier, from a different meeting point; the group is larger than usual; there is a professional chef, food writer and a gluten-free eating person on board; it is the third day of Kurban Bayram, first day of the new year or a Sunday.
I have figured I cannot fight this anxiousness with numbers. It is not a matter of confidence which you build through extensive practice. Cooking a dish or making a walking tour over and over again does not eliminate anxiousness of getting started with another dish or a tour. This anxiousness is excitement about what I do and desire to treat my customers to the best. This is how I learn and how I can inspire other people — by being excited and somewhat anxious.
Being anxious means pouring a bit of your heart out. It is a risky affair of course, because with higher stakes, a disapproval of your effort will definitely heart more. But with a bit of your heart a dish or a tour cannot go wrong.
I thought of how I can cheer up the crew here at Sapanca as the customers are less, days are shorter and everyone is in their own rooms in front of computers and TVs. A bowl of hot hearty soup with a touch of bright color and zingy freshness, a generous loaf of the Turkish countryside bread and a steaming teapot at the long communal table. I was worried a lot about turning this Turkish classic red lentil soup to the all-Turkish crew here. But tell me — how wrong can you go with such intentions, a bit of your heart .. and a good recipe?
Fantastic Winter Red Lentil Soup (Ezogelin Çorbası)
This Turkish «stone soup» is the nation’s favorite. The legend has is that a newly wed (gelin) Ezo had nothing at hand to prepare a meal, and she came up with this red lentil soup. Its ingredient list is literally the essential Turkish pantry.
Source: Adapted from The Sultan’s Kitchen by Özcan Ozan
Prep Time: 5 Min
Cook Time: 45 Min
Total time: 50 Min
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp high quality tomato paste
- 1 tbsp red bell pepper paste (can omit)
- 1 small tomato peeled and finely chopped
- 8 tbsp red lentils, thoroughly washed
- 2 tbsp short-grain rice
- 9 cups boiling water
- 2.5 tbsp fine bulgur
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1⁄2 tsp dried mint
- 1⁄2 tsp red pepper flakes
- fresh parsley for serving
- lemon wedges for serving
Directions
In a large cooking pot heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic for 3-5 minutes, or until it becomes softening. Stir in the tomato and peppers pastes and then chopped tomato; let cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the lentils and rice and then pour the boiling water. Bring the soup to a boil and lower the heat to a minimum. Simmer covered for about 30 minutes, or until the lentils fall apart. After about 20 minutes check the soup to make sure lentils do not stick to the bottom of the saucepan.
As the lentils are cooked, add the fine bulgur and salt. Cook for another 10 minutes stirring occasionally: you can use a sturdy whisk for stirring at this point to help the lentils break and make soup creamier. Taste for salt and adjust, if needed. Finally, crush the dry mint and red pepper flakes in the soup, cover and let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving. Serve with the fresh parsley sprinkled over every bowl and lemon wedges on the side.
