Lentil Soup

by Doug Pendleton

We were served a delicious lentil soup at a wine dinner and Linda spent a Saturday afternoon trying to come up with a similar recipe. And she did it – hers was better than the chef’s!

Ingredients:

2 slices thick cut bacon, cut into ½ pieces
1 medium onion, chopped

¾ cup each of coarse chopped carrots and celery

2 cloves minced garlic

1 Tbs. olive oil

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

1-1/2 cups lentils

8 – 9 cups beef broth

2 bay leaves

1 Tbs. fresh Thyme, chopped

¾ cup finely diced ham

1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar

Preparation:

Brown the chopped bacon in large pot for 3 – 4 minutes, then add olive oil, garlic, onions, carrots and celery and continue sautéing over medium heat for about 10 to 12 minutes. Add salt, pepper and lentils, sautéing for about 1 minute. Add 8 cups of beef broth (depending on how long you cook the soup and your “thickness” preference, you may want to add some more). Add remaining ingredients, and simmer for 1-1/2 hours.

At this point we took two cups out and puréed it in a food processor and then blended it back in to smooth things out a little. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and serve with a nice Grenache, Côtes du Rhône or even the Crios Malbec we were reviewing that evening.