Thursday, August 18, 2011

Sleeper Soup


Sometimes you fall in love with a dish that not everyone likes.  It's hard to convince others around you to eat something that makes you feel all warm and cozy, but may not have very enticing ingredients.  My warm and cozy, I'm-gonna-make-this-because-I'm-all-alone dish is Lentil Soup.  I know.  Sounds boring as hell, huh?  I mean, what in the world is a lentil?  Well, basically it's a seed.  And who the hell wants seed soup?  Well....me, that's who.  And this soup, and I use that term lightly, because it's not very brothy.  It's more packed full of goodness than most soups.  But this soup is amazing.  And I can't remember where I got the recipe, believe me, I've searched high and low to find it so that it's not all off the top of my head, but I can't find it anywhere.  Because no one wants it.  But you know what?  All those people are idiots, because it's freakin' good.  Trust me.  I wouldn't waste my time writing to you about this for no reason.  I like you.  I really do.  So eat this.  And I hope my measurements are right.  Let me know if I'm WAY off and I'll adjust (do that any time, actually).

Here's What You Need: (this recipe is for one....one with a VERY BIG appetite)
3 slices of bacon, diced into small cubes
2 carrots, diced into small cubes
1 stalk of celery, diced into small cubes (do you see a trend forming??)
1/2 of a small onion, yep, you guessed it, diced into small cubes
1 cup of brown lentils
2-3 cups of chicken stock (yes, I am going to refer you to my chicken stock recipe, because it effin rocks)
1 teaspoon of freshly chopped thyme
1 teaspoon of freshly chopped parsley
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Parmesan Cheese
Salt & Pepper

Here's What You Do:
Cook your bacon in a medium pot until crisp.  Reserve on paper towels, but save about 1 tablespoon of bacon grease in your pot, it adds more flavor to this dish.  Add your olive oil to the pot and cook the onion, celery and carrots until they are just tender.  Add salt and pepper to your veggies.  Season EVERY layer of the food you cook, a sprinkle of salt and a few cracks of pepper is what I do.  Once your veggies are starting to become tender, add in your lentils.  Stir them all around to coat everyone in their delicious oil bath.  Add in the chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Once it reaches boiling point, lower your heat to a simmer and cover for about 25-30 minutes. 

To be quite honest, I remember the recipe I got this from had a MUCH shorter cooking time and it was BULLCRAP.  Because I remember testing my lentils and they tasted like the button off a shirt.  You will know when they are done because they will have a slight pop to them, but they will be creamy on the inside.  Mine usually take about 25-30 minutes to get this way.  Once they taste delicious and creamy to you, uncover the pot and add in your thyme and add back in 1/2 of your bacon.  Cook for another 15 minutes, to reduce the amount of liquid you have.

Now you're ready to put that sloppy mess of delicious into a bowl.  Top it with the rest of your bacon, parsley and Parmesan, and indulge.  No one will really come swarming because it's lentil soup for Christ's sake.  Only YOU will know that you are eating an amazing soup with layer after layer of flavor.  Hey, PS....I KNOW it's Summer time.  So what.  I never claimed to be the most topical or reasonable person in the kitchen.  There's a little tag at the top of your screen called a BOOKMARK.  Bookmark it if you can't do soup in the Summer.  But do try it.  You will be surprisingly pleased with the results.  I am every time I make it. 

4 comments:

Andy said...

could it have been the recipe from the bag of lentils?

Terri said...

Mmm sounds deliciousss!

Bianca said...

I LOVE lentil soup. Especially this one, but of course, it has no bacon. :) http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/lentil-soup-recipe/index.html

Jess said...

Dad - pretty sure it's not on the back of the lentils, I normally don't use those recipes.

Terri - it IS delish. Try it, let me know what you think.

Bianca - I thought it was maybe Alton's recipe, but I'm not a fan of cumin and what on earth is a grain of paradise?? HAHA...sounds yummy!

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