Corba

Name: Corba
Prep time: 12 min
Cook time: 22 min
Total time: 34 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: 1 cup Lentils; 1 large Onion; 1 large Carrots; 1 tbs Tomato Puree; 2 tsp Cumin; 1 tsp Paprika; 1/2 tsp Mint; 1/2 tsp Thyme; 1/4 tsp Black Pepper; 1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes; 4 cups Vegetable Stock; 1 cup Water; Pinch Sea Salt

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Side recipe with Turkish flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 54 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 34 min total

1 cup Lentils
1 large Onion
1 large Carrots
1 tbs Tomato Puree
2 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Mint
1/2 tsp Thyme
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
4 cups Vegetable Stock
1 cup Water
Pinch Sea Salt

Step-by-step instructions

Pick through your lentils for any foreign debris, rinse them 2 or 3 times, drain, and set aside. Fair warning, this will probably turn your lentils into a solid block that you’ll have to break up later In a large pot over medium-high heat, sauté the olive oil and the onion with a pinch of salt for about 3 minutes, then add the carrots and cook for another 3 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and stir it around for around 1 minute. Now add the cumin, paprika, mint, thyme, black pepper, and red pepper as quickly as you can and stir for 10 seconds to bloom the spices. Congratulate yourself on how amazing your house now smells.
Immediately add the lentils, water, broth, and salt. Bring the soup to a (gentle) boil.
After it has come to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover the pot halfway, and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the lentils have fallen apart and the carrots are completely cooked.
After the soup has cooked and the lentils are tender, blend the soup either in a blender or simply use a hand blender to reach the consistency you desire. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary.
Serve with crushed-up crackers, torn up bread, or something else to add some extra thickness. You could also use a traditional thickener (like cornstarch or flour), but I prefer to add crackers for some texture and saltiness. Makes great leftovers, stays good in the fridge for about a week.

Why this works on a weeknight

Corba lands at about 34 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Skillet & One-Pan collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Corba actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥘 Skillet & One-Pan Side Turkish Soup