This is one of my favorite soups from Once Upon a Chef.
The only thing I modified was adding more bacon.
It seemed like a great idea. It was. I would even add more….but a 1/2 lb sounded like a good start.
Ingredients:
1/2 lb bacon (6 or so slices bacon) finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 medium carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
6 cups chicken broth
1 cup lentils
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
A few tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)
Directions
Fry the bacon in a large pot over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp, 4-5 minutes. mmmm bacon.
Add the olive oil, onions and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the carrots and garlic, stirring constantly, and cook 1 minute more.
Add the diced tomatoes juice and all, chicken broth, lentils, thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
Cover partially, reduce heat to low and simmer until the lentils are tender, 45-50 minutes. Remove bay leaves, or don’t – sometimes I miss them…haha
Use an immersion blender to purée the soup until the broth is slightly thickened, or to desired consistency.
If you don’t have an immersion blender, you should order one right now, but you could also just transfer about 2 cups of the soup to a blender and purée until smooth, then return the blended soup to the pot.
Garnish with fresh chopped parsley if desired and serve.