Or as I like to call it, "Best Soup Ever!" Randy Harvey drops off his Sunday edition of the NY Times for Mike to read on Mondays. Inside last week's were some delicious soup recipes that promised to "sustain us through the chilly days of early spring." Could have probably used these recipes last week when it was snowing. Onyhoo, this is so delicious that I had I had to share. Mike feels that leaving out the bacon would not harm the taste and I would agree. Although, what's better than bacon?
TOTAL TIME: 1 1/2 hours. SERVES: 4
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to finish
1/2 cup guanciale, finely chopped (Or bacon if your local Kroger doesn't stock cured pork cheeks.
Peasants.)
4 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons finely chopped celery
4 tablespoons finely chopped carrot
1 leek, white and pale green parts only, quartered vertically, then thinly sliced horizontally
1 cup canned, whole peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped
1/2 green lentils
4 cups chicken broth
Juice of one lemon (I believe Mike left this out)
1 bay leaf
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of cayenne pepper (Mike pinched twice)
pinch of black pepper, plus more to finish
salt
1//4 cup grated Parmesan
Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large pot over low heat. Add bacon and cook, stirring until golden and fat renders, about 5 minutes. Add onion and butter and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 7 minutes. Add celery, carrots, and leeks and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Raise heat to high and stir in tomatoes. Lower heat and simmer 20 minutes.
2. Add lentils and stir to combine. Add broth, lemon juice, bay leaf, cloves, cayenne, and black pepper. Season with salt to taste. Increase heat to high and bring broth to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and maintain simmer and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender, about 45 minutes. If soup gets too dry or thick, add stock or water as necessary.
3. Serve in warmed bowls, topped with grated Parmesan, black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
