Dinner Tonight: Lentil and Bacon Soup
I thought I had picked this recipe out specifically for the lentils, an ingredient I really wanted to learn more about. But who was I kidding? The real star in this show is the bacon, and there is a lot of it in here. Between the bits that stew in the pot and the crispy strips sprinkled on at the end its a bacon lovers dream. Everything else in the recipe is just there trying to suck up a little of the bacon essence.
This dead simple simple recipe comes from a chef not exactly known for that cooking style. Charlie Trotter is a big deal here in Chicago, and this recipe from his Charlie Trotter Cooks at Home seems miles away from his multi-course feasts at his eponymous restaurant. But it certainly works for me. And anyone who likes bacon should enjoy this.
Lentil and Bacon Soup
- serves 2 to 3 -
Ingredients
1/2 pound bacon, roughly chopped
1/2 cup yellow onions, diced
1/2 cup carrots, diced
1/2 cup green lentils
1 quart chicken stock
1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced
salt and pepper
Procedure
1. Add about three-quarters of the bacon to a large pot. Cook over medium heat until the fat has rendered and the bacon has slightly crisped up. Dump in the onions and carrots and cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Drain any excess fat. Then add the lentils and half of the stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 40 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. Pour in the rest of the stock, season with salt and pepper to taste, and increase the heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cook the rest of the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crispy, about 10 minutes. Remove pieces and drain on a paper towel.
4. Pour some soup into a bowl and top with some sliced scallions and crispy bacon.
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9 Comments:
sounds yummy and really easy. I'll try it tonight
stacemace at 4:08PM on 01/06/09
i've made this before - soooo easy and delicious.
justlikeaholiday at 4:45PM on 01/06/09
Trotter's other books are coffee table porn but this book-- which I have under a different name in its earlier edition-- is really terrific, one of the best celebrity chef/name restaurant books I've owned. Everything is reasonable for a normal person to do, it may have been Charlie's idea of casual cooking but it's plenty nice enough for a dinner party, and everything pops with bright, not goofy flavor combinations.
Sky Full of Bacon at 11:38PM on 01/06/09
Did I read this right? HALF a pound of bacon?
I love bacon as much as the next person, but that's a bit much...
toastykitten at 1:26AM on 01/07/09
I made this last night. Excellent. The 1/2 pound of bacon made it perhaps a tad salty, and I'm a salt guy! Still, my wife liked it, great with some crusty bread and butter. I think you could go with maybe a 1/3rd pound of bacon, or not worry about the crumbled bacon on top. Definitely a hardy soup and so easy...even a noob like me put it together!
ajdaddy at 11:13AM on 01/07/09
nothing new, it's been made that way for ever in mexico. Bacon, cilantro, onion....
for some reason lentil soup here is never a light affair.
it's heavy and thick and often suffices as a meal.
paulygmex at 2:30PM on 01/07/09
mmm .. looks pretty nice
MrChow at 6:10PM on 01/07/09
Okay, just made it, with my own changes due to what I actually had around (as usual):
5 slices bacon, half turkey stock half water, no carrots, threw some of the scallions into the soup, and oh, red lentils :)
no matter what you do, it's still pretty good!
Made Gourmet's Salt and Pepper Crackers to go with (again, had to change the recipe cause I acidentally threw in too much water and added in cornmeal instead of flour since I didn't want to drag down the flour again - does anyone see a pattern here? lol
Anyway, the two pair really well together. At least in this incarnation...
CityMinx at 7:36PM on 01/07/09
OK, great recipe. Just a few changes from my stove:
1) Use Sadaf lentils, they are larger and more effective in soups than the typical grocery kind. IMO they are cheap, approx $1 per pound. BTW, I am not connected to this company.
2) Skip the carrots. Use a red pepper instead.
3) Add garlic.
4) No salt, add cumin.
Daryl at 5:17PM on 07/19/09