Idlib Red Lentil Soup with Aleppo Pepper and Cumin Onions

Silky red lentil soup flavored with ground Aleppo pepper and brightened with lemon — finished at the table with a cascade of onion rings fried in cumin until almost black at the edges. The fried onion topping is the difference between this and any other lentil soup in the world.

Ingredients

• 350 g red lentils, rinsed
• 1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic cloves
• 2 tsp Aleppo pepper
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp ground turmeric
• 1.5 liters vegetable or chicken stock
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1½ tsp salt
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 large yellow onions for taqlia, thinly sliced into rings
• ¼ cup olive oil for frying
• 1½ tsp whole cumin seeds

Method

1. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot. Add chopped onion and cook until soft and golden, 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes.
2. Add Aleppo pepper, ground cumin, and turmeric. Stir 1 minute.
3. Add lentils and stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for 20–25 minutes until lentils are completely dissolved.
4. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup completely smooth. Stir in lemon juice and salt.
5. Adjust consistency with water if too thick — should pour easily from a ladle.
6. Make the taqlia: heat ¼ cup olive oil in a separate pan over medium-high heat. Add onion rings and cook, stirring frequently, until deeply golden and the edges begin to char — about 15 minutes. Add whole cumin seeds in the last 2 minutes.
7. Ladle hot soup into bowls. Spoon the hot taqlia over each bowl at the table.

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