Shorbat Adas: the Red Lentil Soup That Every Levantine Kitchen Makes and No Two Make the Same

Shorbat adas is the soup that breaks the fast in Ramadan from Beirut to Baghdad and warms the rest of the year's winter in the same houses. It is made from the smallest and cheapest of ingredients, red lentils that need no soaking and cook to a purée in half an hour, and it is one of those dishes whose plainness is the point. Every family has a version. Some add carrot and potato, some rice, some a spoon of tomato paste; Egyptians blend it smooth and Iraqis leave it rough and add noodles. This is the Lebanese one, the simplest, which is where to start.

Ingredients

• 250 g split red lentils, rinsed until the water runs clear
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely diced (optional, but usual)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• Half a teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1.4 litres water or light vegetable stock
• Salt and black pepper
• Juice of 1 lemon, plus wedges to serve
• To finish: 2 pitta breads cut into squares and fried in olive oil until golden, a little more cumin, chopped parsley or coriander

Method

1. Warm the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat and cook the onion and carrot with a pinch of salt until soft and pale gold, about ten minutes. Do not rush this; the sweetness of the onion is most of the soup's depth.
2. Stir in the cumin and turmeric and cook for a minute until fragrant.
3. Add the lentils and the water. Bring to the boil, skim the foam that rises, then lower to a simmer, partly covered, for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring now and then so the lentils do not catch. They are done when they have broken down completely and the soup has thickened.
4. Blend, or not. A stick blender for twenty seconds gives the smooth, velvety texture most restaurants serve; leaving it alone gives a more rustic bowl. Either is correct. If it is too thick, add hot water; it should pour, not stand.
5. Season with salt and pepper and the lemon juice. Taste. It will want more lemon than you think and more salt than you have added.
6. Serve hot, each bowl topped with the fried bread, a pinch of cumin, some herbs and a wedge of lemon on the side.

Notes

The fried bread is not optional; the crunch against the soft soup is the dish. Croutons of stale bread work when there is no pitta. A finishing drizzle of olive oil that has been heated with a little more cumin and a pinch of chilli is the Aleppo touch. Cooks who want body without blending add a handful of rice or a diced potato with the lentils. It reheats well for days and freezes without complaint, and it costs almost nothing, which is why it has fed the region for centuries and why it belongs beside ful medames and red lentil dal in a kitchen that cooks pulses properly.