Bacon Lentil Soup

Okay so I know I just shared a soup recipe last week, but come on… it’s the season for soup?  (Let’s ignore that it was 100 degrees 2 days this weekend… I’m still grieving my recent decision to break-up with October… Seasons-you have lied to me!)

On the bright side, this soup was so amazing I could eat this everyday of every season.  Seriously.

Also it’s almost vegan if you just ignore the bacon.   

(Thank goodness I’m paid to provide psychological advice and am not a nutritionist…)I have to confess that as a child I was highly skeptical of lentils.  There was just something about the weird creamy bean-like texture that was just icky… and tasted way too healthy for my kraft-singles loving “palate”.  Luckily I’ve grown out of this preposterous notion that lentils aren’t actually food and have fallen completely in love with this nutrient-dense little legume.

(And let’s just pause to take note of another adult discovery- that if you add bacon to everything you’ll probably really love vegetables).

So the other cool part about this bacon lentil soup is that it is SO easy to make.  I’m not saying that in that awkward food-blogger humble-brag way where I create a 10 layer cake with from-scratch meringue buttercream and stage it with hand-crafted sugar crystals and homemade caramel sauce.  “But the best part guys was that it was so easy!!” (“It only took me 2 days and an entire-kitchen-destroyed-by-an-explosion-of-powdered-sugar later”… would be my internal monologue).Okay but really. This recipe.

If you own a cutting board, a knife, and a pot, I guarantee you will be successful with this recipe. A bold claim, say you?! But yea- I am feeling bold and also feeling wholly and completely satiated by the empty bowl that used to contain bacon lentil soup that is sitting to the left of my computer monitor.The base of this soup is bacon.  3 slices.  Chopped up and rendered in the bottom of your stock-pot.  To this, add your french mirepoix (a combination of finely diced onion, carrot, and celery).  To which you add some minced garlic, some thyme, some bay leaves, some canned tomatoes.  And then add some lentils and chicken stock.

And then you let it simmer and ignore it.

Until your kitchen timer goes off and you taste your lentils and are reminded why children should never be food critics. 

(I’m sorry mom).

Bacon Lentil Soup

Lightly adapted from Once Upon a Chef

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

• 3 slices center cut bacon finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil if needed
• 1 large Spanish onion diced
• 1 stalk celery diced
• 2 medium carrots diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 6 cups low sodium chicken stock
• 1 cup small whole green lentils also known as French lentils
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Chopped parsley for garnish (optional)

Instructions

 

• Add chopped bacon to a large stock pot. Fry bacon over medium heat until crispy.
• Depending on how much fat renders off the bacon you might not need to add olive oil, but if pan is a little dry, add olive oil and then toss in the onion, celery, and carrots. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
• Saute for about 7-10 minutes, or until onion and celery appear translucent. Then add garlic and saute for 1 minute more.
• Add tomatoes, lentils, thyme, bay leaves, and chicken stock.
• Bring mixture to a boil over high heat. Then cover partially with lid and reduce heat to low.
• Simmer for about 50 minutes or until lentils are tender, but not falling apart.
• Using an immersion blender partially puree the soup, but be careful not to overdo it- you want to have a decent amount of whole lentils and vegetables for texture. (Note- if you don't have an immersion blender, puree 2 cups of soup in a regular blender and then return to the pot).
• Season with salt and pepper to finish.
• Garnish with chopped parsley (optional).