Recipies Souping It Up

Red Lentil,
Bulgur, and Mint Soup

Ezogelin Çarbasi
Serves 4-6

Sultan's Kitchen presented this soup to more than 1500 guests at the annual James Beard Awards Dinner in May 1995.

Topping
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon dried mint
1/2 teaspoon paprika
 
In a heavy medium-size saucepan, heat the olive oil and the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook gently for about 2 minutes, or until they're softened but not brown. Stir in the tomato paste, chopped tomato, paprika, and Turkish pepper. Add the lentils, rice, and stock. Cover the saucepan and bring the liquid to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 30-35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is cooked and the lentils have blended with the stock. Add the bulgur and mint, and season with salt and pepper. Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the soup is too thick, add a little water.

To make the topping, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat., add the mint and paprika, and stir the mixture until it sizzles. Ladle the soup into individual bowls and drizzle the butter mixture over each serving. Top with the croutons, if you're using them. Serve at once with lemon wedges.

 Review:  The Sultan's Kitchen  
 
Tangy Egg-Lemon Soup. Vegetable-stuffed eggplants sautéed in fragrant olive oil. Richly stewed lamb on a bed of creamy eggplant. These are the flavors of Turkey-these are the foods of The Sultan's Kitchen.

Turkish cuisine is one of the world's great cuisines and has a long and complex history. Some of the recipes collected here were developed in the kitchens of the Ottoman sultans over five centuries ago, where, with the infinite variety of fish, fowl, meat, fruit, grain, and vegetables that were available, chefs competed to create innovative dishes. The result is an array of recipes that are as healthy as they are delicious.

Trained in Turkey and Europe, chef Ozcan Ozan opened his restaurant, Sultan's Kitchen, in Boston's financial district in the early eighties, and the distinctive, fresh flavor have kept customers coming back. Recipes like Red Lentil Soup, Chickpea Pilaf, Spicy Char-Grilled Shish Kebab, Rose Water Pudding, and Iman (so called because, as Imam fainted away on tasting it) are easy to prepare and call for ingredients that are readily available. A wealth of vegetable and grain recipes and suggestions for adapting non-vegetarian recipes makes this cookbook a wonderful reference for omnivores and vegetarians alike.

The Sultan's Kitchen offers stunning images by photographer Carl Temblay, complete menu suggestions, and over 130 tantalizing recipes that will inspire cooks to create dishes fit for a sultan.

Chef Ozcan Ozan grew up in Izmir, Turkey, and has been cooking for nearly thirty years. Before coming to Boston he cooked professionally in Europe and Turkey, learning his craft in the traditional European fashion of working at each kitchen position until he became executive chef. He also attended the Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris. He is a member of the James Beard Association and cooked for the 1995 James Beard Awards dinner. His restaurant, Sutlan's Kitchen has been profiled in the Boston Globe, and was selected as the Best Turkish Restaurant in Boston for 1997 by Boston Magazine. Zagat restaurant survey has ranked Sultan's Kitchen as Boston's Best Middle Eastern Restaurant for four years. Ozcan has appeared on television and radio programs here and abroad. He lives north of Boston with his wife and two sons.

By Ozcan Ozan

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