Monday, November 30, 2009

Italian Lentil Soup

italiensklinssoppa

Frankly, I don't know what's Italian about this soup, but that's the name of it. And let me tell you, it's a great, great soup. Per often votes against soup for dinner, claiming it won't be enough food, or just not good enough. But this one? Oh, this one got slurped up, and with a surprised look he exclaimed that it was delicious! And filling, too! It will definitely be a staple here - not only is it quick and easy to make, it has basic ingredients that I often have at hand.

I got it from an online friend who has a great foodblog! in Swedish - I've changed the quantities a bit, but it's basically the same.

My veggies were all small-medium - if yours are huge, use fewer than the recipe specifies.

Italian Lentil Soup
(printable recipe)
Serves 3-4

1 onion
1 garlic clove
2-3 carrots
2 parsnips
3 potatoes
100 ml red lentils
70 g bacon
800 ml water or vegetable stock
1 tbsp concentrated vegetable stock (if using water) or stock cube
200 ml milk
100 ml cream
1 tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
salt, pepper
butter

Chop onion and garlic. Peel the carrots, parsnips and potatoes, and cut into coins and dice, respectively. Cut the bacon into strips.

Fry the bacon in a dry frying pan until it's lightly browned. Add some butter and the onions, garlic, carrots and parsnips. Fry for five minutes, then add lentils and potatoes. Fry for a few more minutes, then add water, stock, thyme and bay leaves.

Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft. Add milk and cream, and season with salt and pepper.

Recipe in Swedish:
Italiensk linssoppa

7 comments:

Michele said...

Interesting. I've never seen Italian lentils that color before. Our lentils are always brown. I wonder if they taste different. The color is so pretty.

hannah said...

Ser fantastisk ut! Kanske kan även min sambo bli omvänd till soppälskare?

David @ green kitchen stories said...

Hi Anne.
I have a small obsession about lentil soups but I've never tried this combination before, it sounds really good. Would it work without the bacon (making it vegetarian) or do you think it should be replaced with something?

Anne said...

Michele - I don't think the lentils themselves are Italian! (Well, not really the soup either, but I just used her name for it.) The lentils are bright orangey-red and they cook very quickly.

Hannah - om någon soppa kan så kan den här :)

David - the smokiness really works to offset the sweetness of the parsnip. Not sure what you could use instead though! Smoked tofu..? Never tried that myself. :)

kitten kitchen said...

That looks absolutely delicious. I am crazy about lentils, so will definately give this a go. Thanks!

orlando custom home builder said...

Lovely! It's getting a little chilly where I am right now... I think this soup will do the trick. Thanks!

selena said...

David, I made it vegetarian, and it was very good! You could always add a drop of smoke flavoring if you prefer!

Thanks Anne for the recipe.