3 March 2019
Recipe from America's Test Kitchen, 2005
I think I first saw this soup recipe mentioned in a Facebook post. We have tried two lentil soup recipes recently; we loved both and have made each several times: Red Lentil Soup with North African Spices and Moroccan Lentil and Chickpea Soup. Both of these soups feature warm spices from North Africa. Would this new recipe with more traditional flavors from America be as good?
To make the soup some bacon was diced then rendered in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Placing the bacon in the freezer for 15 minutes before cutting made it much easier to handle. Diced onion and carrot was added and cooked until the vegetables began to soften. Garlic was added and cooked for 30 seconds followed by a can of diced tomatoes, bay leaf, and diced fresh thyme and another 30 seconds of cooking. The recipe said to drain the canned tomatoes but I forgot to do this. Finally, French green lentils, the variety recommended in the recipe, were added. I found them in the bulk food section at Whole Foods. The temperature was reduced and the soup cooked to soften the vegetables, about 10 minutes. The heat was increased to high and white wine (Vella Chardonnay) was added and when it started to simmer chicken stock and water were added. The heat was reduced to low, the pot partially covered, and the soup simmered until the lentils were tender. A portion of the soup was puréed in a blender then added back to the Dutch oven. The soup was finished with some chopped fresh parsley, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Total time was 1 hour 45 minutes.
The hearty lentil soup is very good and worth making again. Including the juice from the canned tomatoes added some additional tomato notes and some additional depth to the soup's flavor. The flavors are different than the other lentil soups that we had as this soup did not include any spices. All of the lentil soups have been good and it is nice to have a variety of good recipes to choose from when soup season arrives.
To make the soup some bacon was diced then rendered in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Placing the bacon in the freezer for 15 minutes before cutting made it much easier to handle. Diced onion and carrot was added and cooked until the vegetables began to soften. Garlic was added and cooked for 30 seconds followed by a can of diced tomatoes, bay leaf, and diced fresh thyme and another 30 seconds of cooking. The recipe said to drain the canned tomatoes but I forgot to do this. Finally, French green lentils, the variety recommended in the recipe, were added. I found them in the bulk food section at Whole Foods. The temperature was reduced and the soup cooked to soften the vegetables, about 10 minutes. The heat was increased to high and white wine (Vella Chardonnay) was added and when it started to simmer chicken stock and water were added. The heat was reduced to low, the pot partially covered, and the soup simmered until the lentils were tender. A portion of the soup was puréed in a blender then added back to the Dutch oven. The soup was finished with some chopped fresh parsley, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Total time was 1 hour 45 minutes.
The hearty lentil soup is very good and worth making again. Including the juice from the canned tomatoes added some additional tomato notes and some additional depth to the soup's flavor. The flavors are different than the other lentil soups that we had as this soup did not include any spices. All of the lentil soups have been good and it is nice to have a variety of good recipes to choose from when soup season arrives.
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