Turkish lentil soup with poultry

Ingredients for 5 servings:

• 600 g chicken breast fillet(s)
• olive oil
• 3 bell peppers, diced, at least 2 red bell peppers
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 onion(s), finely diced
• 1 pepper, pitted and cut into thin rings
• 250 g lentils, red
• 3 tbsp wheat flour
• 2 liters of chicken broth
• 1 lemon(s), juice
• 1 tbsp paprika powder, sweet
• 1 sprig(s) of thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 slices of white bread
• 100 g cheese, grated
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes

Rinse and drain the lentils. Wash the chicken fillet, pat dry, and dice into portion-sized pieces. Sauté in plenty of olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and sauté, then add the bell peppers and chili peppers. Add the paprika and flour and sauté. Stir in the broth and add the lentils. Bring the soup to a boil and season with lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Add the thyme sprig and bay leaves to the soup and simmer over low heat for about 45 minutes. Dice the white bread and toast it in a pan with a little olive oil. Finally, season the soup to taste and serve with the cheese cubes and grated cheese. If you like, you can sauté cumin alongside the bell peppers. If children are joining us, or if you want to adjust the heat to your liking, I leave out the chili peppers. If you like, you can stir in some Mexican chili sauce before adding the cheese and croutons. If I don’t have much time on the day itself, I cook the soup in advance, reduce the cooking time to 20 minutes and then just heat it up the next day.