French Lentil Soup

lentil soup2

Nothing exciting on the horizon today, except the frigid temperatures and lack of greenery.

This is the time of year I would like to live in Arizona.

Here is Ina's recipe for good old fashioned lentil soup.
I used those green beauties, Lentilles du Puy, & added bacon and fennel to make it my own, and it was very comforting.



French Lentil & Vegetable Soup: (adapted from Barefoot Contessa) this makes a lot of soup! (you can cut the recipe in half)

1 pound French green lentils, picked over and rinsed
4 slices of bacon, cubed
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
2 large onions, chopped
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 large leeks, white and tender green parts only, chopped
1 head of fennel, sliced and chopped (optional)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon ground cumin
6 celery ribs, cut into 1/2-inch dice
6 medium carrots, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3 quarts chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 tablespoons dry red wine or red wine vinegar
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

In a heavy Dutch oven, heat your bacon and render the fat and cook a few minutes.

Add your vegetables, thyme and cumin to the bacon fat, and cook about 15 minutes, until soft.



Add the chicken stock, tomato paste and lentils to the pot. Increase the heat to high, cover and bring to a boil. Uncover, reduce the heat to moderate and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, about 1 hour. Stir in the red wine vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of Parmesan.



Good news: I have a new PRINT button under each post, so if you want to print out a recipe with or without photos you finally can! Thanks Rosemary for your help!

Comments

Anonymous said…
looks great, thanks for the print button
I found the print button but you figured out how to put it on each post. Looks great. I'm proud of you. Rosemary
kat said…
That looks so wonderful, another good use for those French lentils we picked up in SF
lisa is cooking said…
Lentils are in the air! Soup sounds delicious for today.
Love lentil soup. I just ordered a digital pressure cooker, so this soup is first on my list to make.
Linda said…
Hi!!Love the print button thingy. Nice touch!! and the SOUP spelled out, very cute. Did you have help with that from your partner in Food!!!
The JR said…
Looks great. I like the print button too!
It's frigid cold today here too, and I would love this soup, I adore lentils! I'm so envious of your print button, would you want to help a blogger who has the technical knowledge of a 5year old?
I finally was able to grap some French lentils at the grocery, so I'm all for making a soup like this! Yum!
Wendy said…
Looks delicious..can't wait to try this soup. BTW, it is sunny and 58 right now here in AZ!
Bob said…
Man, that looks way better than the crappy microwaved lunch I'm eating right now. Heh, love the "soup" pics.
Foodiewife said…
Last night, that's I made a lentil soup with hot Italian sausage. It was awesome! That's one of my fave soups, and yours looks great.
noble pig said…
That looks beautiful!!
Estrella Damm said…
exactly what I what was looking for! A use for all those lentils in my cupboard
Jess :) said…
Do you think this would work in a slow cooker?

By the way...LOVE LOVE LOVE your emails...YOU ROCK!! :)
Bluebird NY said…
With temps hovering around 15 degrees up here, this soup will be on the weekend menu. I will probably freeze half of it. And thanks for the print button - brilliant idea!
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