Lentil and Bacon Soup

Lentil and Bacon Soup Recipe

Ok, so with all good intentions, let’s start 2015 with a whiff of health. And it is a whiff with this hugely flavoursome Lentil and Bacon Soup. I am not sure where the original recipe came from, I think it may be from the back of the lentils packet, but it’s a great soup which I make when I need something filling, whilst still trying to shed a few pounds. And I really do need to shed quite a few post Christmas pounds, what with a week of pub lunches and the need to have a slice of Christmas cake with every cup of tea.

So, while this has bucket loads of flavour, it is also is a great source of protein and vitamins. This soup is extremely simple to make and everyone in our house enjoys it, with or without big slices of buttered warm bread. The ingredients are all brilliantly store cupboard based and you can throw everything in and then blitz with a hand blender or liquidiser at the end, and even that part is optional.

So, welcome to 2015, with a nod towards your love handles with this delicious, yet healthy soup.

These are the ingredients, nothing to confuse anyone here and do feel free to leave the bacon out for any vegetarians on board.

So, take a splash of olive oil, or even a healthy spray alternative if you are being completely pious, and heat this up in a large saucepan. Snip up the streaky bacon and add to the pan with the onion, garlic and carrots. Cook slowly until starting to brown, around 5 to 10 minutes.

Stir in the lentils and tinned chopped tomatoes and add a pinch of sugar to take away any acidity. Pour on the stock, bring to the boil, turn down the heat, then put the lid on and cook for around 35 minutes or until the lentils are cooked through.

This rich and colourful soup is now cooked, and it’s up to you if you would like to serve it chunky or puréed. If it’s the latter, use your hand blender or liquidiser to blitz the soup until smooth. I went for chunky today as I was feeling rustic *couldn’t be arsed to get the blender out*.

Either way you serve it, stir through a couple of tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley and pour into a warmed bowl.

Perfect. Colourful, flavourful and healthy too, the soup, not my hands that is.

A welcome change from the calorie laden Christmas fare. You could always have a chocolate biscuit afterwards, I suppose.

Lucy x

Lentil and Bacon Soup

Serves 4-ish

You will need a large pan and blender if you wish to serve your soup puréed.

1 tablespoon olive oil or a squirt of spray oil or two

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

6 rashers streaky bacon, chopped into small pieces

2 carrots, peeled and diced

200g red lentils

400g tin chopped tomatoes

1.25 litres chicken stock

a pinch caster sugar

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley

Heat a large saucepan with either the olive oil or spray oil. Add the onion, garlic, bacon and carrots and cook, over a low-ish heat, until the bacon is starting to brown. Stir through the red lentils and tinned chopped tomatoes, the pinch of sugar, season with salt and pepper and add the stock. Bring this to the boil then simmer with a lid on for around 35 minutes or until the lentils are cooked through.

Blitz in a liquidiser or with a hand blender if you prefer a smooth soup, then stir in around two tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley and serve. This keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days or freezes brilliantly.